Deep Blue
by neko-in-blue
Summary: "The golden eyes were wide in absolute shock, when her beautiful legs transformed into a mermaid's tail, filled with glistering red scales under the bright moonlight."
1. Chapter 1

The silence of the winter night was broken by a chasing inside the deep forest.

Five men riding horses were chasing after a young woman. Her long red hair was loose and flowing like wild fire in the dark night. She was wearing a short white yukata, which was dirty and torn. Her skin was burning with the cold wind; her feet and legs were already numb, while she was running with all her might trough the blizzard.

"Don't let the bitch ran away!" one of the men yelled. The woman was extremely agile and she was choosing the most difficult paths to ran, knowing that the horses were not going to able to pass easily. She was tired and hurt, but it was her only chance of freedom.

Her wrists and ankles were swollen after being chained for so long.

She missed the sea, the feeling of the cold water on her body. She needed the sea to wash away all the wounds on her body and the memories of those horrible days she spent under that man's torture. Her connection with the sea showed her the way and she followed her heart.

She ran faster, even such under terrible conditions and despair.

She could already smell the sea and she closed her eyes, hoping that she would be home soon.

There was a cliff ahead and the woman was about to jump, when an arrow was shot, going through her thigh and staining the white dress with her blood. With her last strength, she was able to jump and her body sank on the gelid ocean.

The man stopped the horses by the cliff and ran to look down.

"That idiot!" the taller man, said, angrily.

"What are we going to do?" the younger man asked, concerned. "Muramasa-sama ordered us to bring her back alive!"

"It is not like she is going to survive that fall anyway." A overweight man scoff. "A fish cannot swin without its tail."

"Let's go back. We can catch another one." The taller man said, turning around to his house.

"With a softer bite, right?" they all laughed before leaving the place.

##########

The scarlet eyes opened slowly. She was so tired and her whole body was hurting. There was a soft white blanket made of fur over her and she was on a futon. She could hear the fireplace crepitating. It took her a while to realize she was not at home and she sat down, scared.

"Ah, you are finally up." The young man with dark hair and golden eyes looked at her. He was sitting on the other side of the wall.

The woman moved to the edge of the room and her body was glued to the corner. She started to growl and showed him her pointy canines. Her scarlet eyes were menacing.

"Hey, hey, calm down!" he stood up and looked at her surprised. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She went to his direction, making him retreat, returning to the corner of the room again. He realized she was not aggressive, but fearful, so he kneeled down and got distanced a little.

"My name is Ryoma.I found you unconscious on the beach yesterday, you had a bad wound on your leg, so I brought you in. You have been sleeping since then." The woman looked down and realized there were some bandages on thigh and she was wearing a dark blue yukata that was too big on her. She touched the clothes and looked at him. He averted his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I had to change your clothes, you were all wet." He looked at her, embarrassed. "But, I didn't do anything weird with you, I swear."

Her attention was called to the familiar and dear sound of the waves crashing near. She stood up and limped to the windows, opening them. The blizzard had stopped and there was only snow falling softly. She took a deep, relieved breath when finally seeing the sea again and a small tear ran down on her beautiful face. Ryoma looked at her confused.

"Hey, are you okay?" he got closer. "Are you in pain? I can…"

When he was about to touch her, she turned around, growling one more time and almost bit his hand.

"Hey!" he was upset. "I told you already, I'm not going to hurt you. Can you at least understand me? What's your name?"

The delicious smell of soup spread on the room and she looked on the kitchen's direction.

"Ah, food is ready. Do you want to eat?"

She was looking at the pot with a hopeful expression and he was amused.

Ryoma waited a while for the soup to not be so hot and poured on small bowls. He returned to the room and offered to her with a small piece of bread, placing it in front of her, on the floor. The woman was still suspicious and she picked up the food quickly, eating with her hands. Ryoma was extremely surprise with her reaction.

"You are really hungry. How long have you been without eating?"

She was licking the bowl, her whole face inside of it. Ryoma noticed she was disappointed when the food finished and put his own bowl in front of her, with a small smile on his face.

"Here. You can have more."

She ate more slowly this time, the warm meal spreading a good sensation all over her body.

"You should rest. It's an ugly wound; you won't be able to walk for a while. Do you have anyone or anywhere to go back to? What happened to your hands and legs? Did someone hurt you?"

Coming close, the young woman touched one of his fingers and looked at him with gentle eyes.

"Are you thanking me or apologizing for trying to bite me?" he asked, softly. "You can stay here as long as you like. I'm a fisherman, but since the weather is so cold, I will stay home those next days. I live by myself, so you can be at ease."

He placed another futon on the other side of the small house and watched while she returned to the bed. She still seemed so tired. He watched when she went under the covers and took a deep, relieved breath. She was sound sleep just after a while. Ryoma wondered where she came from and how dis she ended up in such situation, before starting to sleep as well.


	2. Chapter 2

The young and handsome man sat down, coughing water. He was on a big flat rock near the beach, the sea around him. It took him a while to be able to breathe properly.

He had dark purple hair, touching his shoulders and bright pink eyes. His clothes, made of expensive cloth, were tore.

Putting his hand on his forehead, he remembered he drank too much on a party of his castle and going for a swim with his clothes on.

"Damn. That was careless." Looking around, he wasn't too far from home, so he could walk from the beach. But, he was surprised with the unknown young woman looking at him, curiously, from a few meters, just her face out of the water. He stood up, surprised. "Who are you?!"

His voice startled her and she dived. The young human jumped on the water after her and his eyes were wide in shock. She stopped inside the blue ocean and looked at him. She was a mermaid. Her tail was filled with scales of different tones of red and with a red transparent fin. The upper part of her body was completely naked, the long red hair floating around and the scarlet eyes glistered on his direction. She was absolutely stunning.

He returned to the surface and looked around for her.

"Hey, please, come back! I did not mean to scare you, I am sorry!" he swam back to the rock he was before and stood there, looking down, trying to see her again. "You were the one who saved me, right?!"

Nothing. He looked around but there was no sign of her.

"I have to go back home, but, I will be back tomorrow and I will wait for you!" he shouted, before jumping into the sea again and swimming towards the beach.

It took a while for the mermaid to return to the surface and she observed when he reached the sand and started to walk towards the castle in the mountain above.

She smiled, relieved that the human was safe.

################

"Muramasa-sama!" the guards ran to him, when the young lord appeared dripping wet on the castle's door. "You are alive!"

"Of course I am." He scoffed while they were walking inside the castle. "Hey, you, draw me a warm bath and bring me some clothes." He said to a servant walking close that bowed nervously.

"Where were you?!" the tall guard asked, concerned.

"I slept on the beach." He lied. "You can go now; I am going to take a bath and rest."

"You are back!" The beautiful young woman looked at him surprised, when he crossed the hallways, going to his room and rushed after him. She had the same eye and hair color of his, but her hair was very long, reaching the middle of her back. The woman was wearing an expensive and colorful _furisode_.

"Were you already celebrating my death, Kaori?" he smiled sarcastically at her.

"What are you saying, Ren?!" she grabbed his sleeve and made him turn around to look at her. "Where were you?! Why are you all wet? The last time I saw you, you were completely drunk!"

"I went to take a swim." He smiled.

"You are the state's lord now. How many times do I have to remind you of your responsibilities?" she was very upset. "At least act like it. Do you have any idea of how worried I was?"

"I will pretend to believe you were not happy when I was gone." He said, before walking away.

Kaori looked at her younger twin with a deep frown on her forehead and her fists were closed tight, in anger.

#########

Muramasa was a small but powerful state near the sea. Its economy was based on fishing and commerce on its port area. The last Muramasa lord had died of sickness six months before. 23 years ago his wife had died on a spring night, after hard labor to bring their twin children to the world.

Kaori was the oldest for a few minutes, but, the law demanded the male heir to have the control of the state. Ren had always being spoiled and irresponsible and those traits did not improve as he got older. He would ditch their private lessons to play or create problems at the city with other boys. When he became a teenager he started spending his family's money with women, drinking and gambling on the brothel houses.

Kaori was clearly her father's favorite, being respectful and mature since her younger days. She accompanied the last lord on his appointments and visits around the city, watching her father taking care of his people and land. Before he passed away, he held his daughter's hand and cried, saying that he wished she was a man, on his last whispering words.

She tried her best to make the state running properly, doing her brother's job out of concern for her people. But, he would always remind her he was the rightful Muramasa's ruler.

After their father died, he started to have frequent parties and orgies on the private beach outside the castle. Different women would walk around naked on their home and empty bottles filled the floor of his room.

Kaori would work on his absence and she was well respect and liked by Muramasa's people, they also didn't approve the young master's behavior.

###########

Ren took a deep, satisfied breath when entering the warm water of the ofuro. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the tired muscles start to relax.

Leaning on the tub's edge, he looked up to the ceiling. The mermaid's face came to his mind. Her gorgeous face and perfect breasts. He remembered reading about those mythical creatures on old books. His father once told him he had seen a group of merpeople in one of his boat trips when he was younger. Ren always thought it was a story for little kids, but now he had a wide grin on his face, knowing they were real.

He just couldn't tell anyone. He knew people called him names behind his back. Drunk, shameless, spoiled brat. They would easily call him a liar too. He needed to bring her to the castle and show her to people, like the exquisite prize she was.

"That is going to be an interesting catch." He smiled to himself.

The young master was impatient. He was sitting on the same stone the mermaid had taken him for a long time already. He had a small basket of sweets near him. He had called the mermaid many times; he had tapped on the water and moved his feet too. Nothing. The sea was very calm on that afternoon, just some small waves on the surface.

"I will try again tomorrow." He stood up and turned around, about to retrieved the basket when he saw the feminine hand taking the sweets.

"Hey!" he stuck his head on the water and looked at her, a few maters always, already with a small sweet on her mouth and holding the basket tight. Ren sat down on the rock and laughed. That was a tricky fish. But, he was a stubborn man. And he knew it would be worthy it.

################

"Calm down!" Ryoma begged, trying to get close to make the young woman still, while she showed him her fangs. It was morning already and he wanted to take care of her wound while she was still sleeping. But, as soon as he applied the ointment, it stung and she growled, enraged. "I need to clean your leg!"

His words didn't work. She was able to bite his hand and it took a while for her to release him.

"Do you want your leg to fall off?!" he asked, upset, holding his injured hand. Luckily, she wasn't serious and she didn't draw any blood.

She tried to use her leg to stand up, but it hurt and she complained, touching her thigh. The wound didn't seem infected, but it was very deep.

"I know it hurts, there is exactly why I need to put this on." He showed her the small bottle. "If I don't take care of it, it would be infected and it's going to be worse."

She continued to look at him with narrowed eyes and a low growl, but, suddenly, her stomach started to complain. Ryoma showed her a small smile. He stood up and picked up some dry fish near, offering to her in a small plate.

"Let's make a deal, you let me finish and I will give you this."

She came close, sniffing the food, but still looking at him with a distrustful expression. Ryoma tossed a small fish close to her and she ate it quickly.

She tried to pick up another one but he pulled them away.

"No. Only if you let me touch you. Can you understand me?"

He noticed that her teeth were not menacing as before and he got close, still a little careful. He tried to be as quick as possible while she ate, even noticing the discomfort on her features when he cleaned her wound, applied the medicine and put new and clean bandages.

"There you go. It was not so bad, right?"

He looked at her ankles. There were still marks on them, but they had started to fade.

He touched one of them and looked at her, worried.

"Does this hurt? On your wrists too."

She pulled her legs away from him, placing them near her body, hiding her face inside her arms.

Ryoma noticed the deep sadness on her face when she averted her eyes.

"I don't know what happened, but, you are safe here. No one will hurt you, okay? Can you understand this at least?"

" _I will not hurt you_." Ren's voice echoed on her mind and his sweet, fake smile.

A small tear ran down her face and she felt stupid.

The sound of the sea crashing near was her only comfort at that moment.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaori was on her late father's office, doing some accountability of the state when a loud banging noise echoed on the castle. It was the middle of the night and there were some lanterns on. She went down the stairs, following the noise to the basement. Five strong men were there, hammering some long boards together and she was curious. They were putting the boards in a circular shape, like a deeper ofuro. When she was about to ask them what are they doing, her younger brother appeared from the shadows, surprising her.

"Can I help you?" he asked, standing in front of her.

"Ren." She noticed his serious look. "What are you guys doing this late?"

"You should not be concerned about it. Return to bed, you worked all day." He smiled sarcastically at her. "You are probably very tired, right, dear sister?"

She looked at him. Kaori knew her brother well enough to know when he was lying.

"Are you going to construct a bath house down here or something?"

"It is just a tank." He stood aside and showed it to her.

"A tank? For what?" the size of it was almost five times a regular bath.

Her brother crossed his arms and there was a strange glare on his pink eyes.

"A special kind of fish I will keep as a pet. You will see it."

#############

Four months had passed by quickly and Ren was able to make the mermaid more comfortable around him. He would swim to the rock they meet and would stay there, waiting for her to come close and pick up the food he would bring her. She would observe him from far away after accepting the treats and would show him a smile from time to time.

The way the blue ocean reflected on the scarlet eyes was very alluring, he thought.

He started to bring books with him and would read for her. The mermaid observed him for hours, trying to understand his words, but she was attracted by the deep and calm sound of his voice. She laid on her back on the gentle waves and closed her eyes, moving her tail just enough to remain close to the rock he was sitting. Sometimes Ren would stop to observe the way the sun touched on her scales and it made them glister like precious stones.

Sometimes he joined her inside the sea, diving and swimming a few meters from her. It took him a long while to be able to get close.

He had read about mermaids on some of the old books of the big library kept inside the Musamasa castle. The young lord learned about them being very strong, even the females and that, if outside the sea, their tails would become legs. Mermaids could stay away from the sea, but they would start to get weak and depress. It would be easier to control her, he thought.

On a particular afternoon, he fell asleep under the setting sun and woke up with the mermaid soft hands touching his cheeks. Her fingers were cold. She had a concerned expression for seeing him with closed eyes and sat on the rock, her tail still on the water. She smiled when he looked and touched her face back. His thumb caressed her skin while the gentle sea breeze moved her long red hair that covered part of her breasts. Ren had a new aim for the mermaid. He wanted to see her in a full human form and try her body completely.

##############

Kaori ran on the hallways, scared with the feminine screams echoing on the castle. She looked for her brother and his guards, but couldn't find anyone. Going down the stairs, she pushed the heavy door where the screams were coming from and stopped, shocked with the signt in front of her.

The mermaid was on the floor, heavy chains around her body. Her eyes were filled with pain and despair. Kaori noticed her fangs and how she was trying with all her strength to free herself. The chains had bruised her arms and naked torso and also a part of her tail that had an opened wound.

The Muramasa lady tried to help the the young woman, but her brother grabbed her wrist, making her stop.

"Once again here, Kaori?" he said, with an annoyed expression. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Ren, what is the meaning of this?!" she tried to get free, but her brother was taller and stronger than her and he tightened his grip.

"Don't you know? It is a mermaid." He smiled wickedly. "She belongs to me now."

"Did you lost your mind?!" she looked at the mermaid's tears. "She is suffering!

"She is only feeling her legs being changed, since she it outside the sea for a while now. Her tail is probably creating new bones and will split in two soon. I read it was extremely painful when they are forced to do it, but only the first time. Soon she will have a complete human's body."

"You must return her to the sea at once!"

His laugh echoed on the dark room.

"Do you know how long I waited until I was able to catch her? She is a invaluable prize."

"What… are you going to do with her?"

"Who knows." He shrugged, releasing his sister. "First, I want to know more things about her. I want to touch her properly. When I am satisfied, I will sell her for the higher prize. I am sure a lot of people will be interested, so…"

His words stopped with Kaori's hard slap on his face. When he looked at his sister, her pink eyes were filled with tears.

"You are a monster. Our father would be ashamed of you!"

Ren laughed and pushed his older sister violently outside the room.

"It does not concern you. And I do not care about a dead man's opinion." He said, before slamming the door on her face.

On that night, Kaori couldn't sleep, the screams of the mermaid continued to pierce her mind for many hours until the dawn.

###########

"Hey, close those, you might get sick." Ryoma asked gently to the mermaid. She was in front of the windows and it was snowing outside again. He was cooking lunch by the small stove.

Ten days had passed by already and the wound on her leg was almost completely healed. He noticed her expression was serious while she observed the sea. Was she worried with something? Was she missing someone? Was that… longing?

After so many days locked inside that small house due to the winter, he got accostumed with her company, even if it was a silent one. She became more docile on those past days, not growling at him anymore or showing her pointy theeth when he was taking care of her wound that was now almost completely close.

Ryoma finished cooking, putting the food on small bowls and went to her side. She had closed her eyes, to better concentrate on the waves. She didn't move hearing him get near, showing she was comfortable with his proximity. There was so much he wanted to ask her, but it would be in vain since she was not going to answer him. But, he was glad the marks on her body finally faded completely.

"Here, lunch is ready." He said, kindly and she opened her eyes and looked at him. "Are you okay?"

She picked up the small bowl on his hand and smelled. He had taught her to eat with a spoon so she started to serve herself.

"Hey, wait, let's sat down properly first."

She closed the windows and followed him, sitting across from him after he placed the rest of the meal there. He liked to observe her eating. She always had a curious look on the different food and he was happy she was satisfied with the taste, since it was the first time he cooked to someone else.

"Do you wish to stay until winter finishes?" he asked, quietly and she looked at him interrogatively. "You are still so thin. Even if you need to go somewhere, you could at least stay here and eat properly a little more."

He blushed when she pulled the yukata collar and looked inside her clothes to examinated her body, part of her breasts showing with the gesture.

"Ah!" he averted his eyes. "It's not like I'm interested on looking at your body or anything! It's just… You were so light, I could feel all of your ribs when I carried you inside."

She continued to eat, totally oblivious to his embarrassment.

"I knew you were very hungry when you first arrive, but now I'm sure you starve for a while at least." He said, while she ate some vegetables. "I really wanted to know what happened to you. I wonder if I can help you more somehow."

She noticed a hint of sadness on his golden eyes. The mermaid stopped eating and sat by his side, examinating his face.

"What is it?" Ryoma showed her a small smile. "Are you worried about me? I am the one worried about you."

He raised his arm and she flinched for a bit. Ryoma touched her hair in a very gentle movement, caressing the top of her head.

"Good girl."

It was the first time the mermaid smiled at him and Ryoma realized that, aside from being incredibly beautiful, his silent guest was also very cute.


	4. Chapter 4

The mermaid looked at Ryoma, curiously, while he placed a heavy coat made of black fur over him and picked up a spear. The blizzard had finally stopped on that morning.

"I need to go outside and hunt something for us. I didn't have much food inside for two people until the weather gets better and I can fish again or go to the city."

He showed her a small smile and patted the top of her head.

"Be a good girl and stay inside, okay? Wait for me." he said, before leaving.

The mermaid sat in front of the door, waiting for him to come back.

Although the snowstorm had stopped, the snow was very thick all over the area. Ryoma's legs sank until his knees and the cold wind burned the skin of his hands and face.

He had to be slow and silent on his actions, since rabbits and other animals could hear him easily.

It took him a long while to be able to spot a prey. It was a wild hog, looking for food near a tree. Ryoma was against the wind, so the animal could not feel his scent. Getting closer slowly, he was about to throw the spear on the animal, when a huge hog appeared in front of him, with big and sharp tusks. It was probably the male of the herd.

"Damn it!" Ryoma ran away when both animals started to persue him. His legs were heavy from the snow and cold and he was already tired after a few meters. Coming near a ravine, he turned around and laid his feet deep on the snow, holding the bigger hog's tusks, trying to stop him. The animal was furious and very strong and, even after with all his strength, Ryoma was pushed down the ravine.

Some minutes passed before he was able to sit down, pressing his palm on his forehead. His head was hurting and his back too.

Looking up, he had fallen for at least 5 meters.

"I have to take some food home." He told himself, worried about his guest. But, at the moment he looked around, he realized he had landed on a big group of bright orange mushrooms. Ryoma stood up quickly and realized those were poisoned ones.

Looking at his arms, some of the mushrooms were crushed and their sap entered the small cuts on his skin.

He took a deep breath, trying not to panic. The young man started to climb the ravine, while the snow started to fall once more.

############

"Wow." The taller guard said, amazed. "She really got legs."

Him and the other men of the Musamasa's young lord were around the mermaid, looking at her naked body. Her skin was trembling entirely after such intense pain and she was still crying, her face hiding by her long hair. She was sitting down near the wall, trying to hide herself, the chains still around her body.

Ren used food to drug her and they took her inside the castle after she passed out.

"Really nice legs." The fat guard said, licking his thick lips. "Nice everything."

"You can go now." Ren said, after opening the obi of his dark kimono a little. He smiled at the mermaid and she glared at him with the scarlet eyes inside her lose hair. "We are going to know each other better. Close the door on your way out."

"Yes, sir."

When the young lord was just a few steps from her, a circular electric field appeared around the mermaid and they were all shocked.

"What is that?!" Ren stretched his hand and hurt himself. He had burned his palm. "Shock waves." He looked at her with an enraged expression.

"Are mermaids really able to do that?!" one of the guards asked.

"Apparently they are." Ren grinned. "But, let's see how long are you going to be able to maintain this without food or sea water. I am a patient man after all."

The young mermaid screamed at him, before he closed the door, leaving her alone on the dark room.

############

The young man sat down and opened his green eyes lazily, when hearing the banging on his door. He stood up and starched his dark short hair before opening the door, still very sleepy. But, in just a second he was completely awake, taken by pure surprised.

"Kaori, what are you doing here?!" he asked, surprised when seeing the Murasama lady standing in front of him. She was using a dark cloak over her clothes that was covered with small snowflakes and her pink eyes were apprehensive.

"I am sorry to disturb you so late, Shuichirou, but I need help, please."

"Sure, come in." he helped her to take of the cloak when she entered his house. "Do you accept some tea? It is freaking outside.

"I do, thank you." She was trying to behave normally, while sitting on his table and waiting him return from the kitchen. How much time had passed since they last saw each other? How long had it been since she screamed at him, pushing him away from her and hiding her tears and broken heart for their separation?

"Here." He returned with a small cup and offered to her before sitting across from her. Lemon tea, her favorite. He still remembered.

Oishi Shuichirou was the last commander of the Murasama's forces. Although just a couple of years older than her, he was a capable warrior and his family had worked together with hers for many generations.

They were engaged for one year when her father passed away and Shuichirou told her he would leave his position. He moved out from the castle and was living on a small house near the forest.

"Thank you." She said, quietly, after taking another sip and putting the small cup over the table.

"So, tell me, what is wrong?" Kaori took a deep breath, before speaking.

"Ren is keeping a mermaid on the castle." He noticed her eyes were filled with sorrow.

"What? A mermaid? Are you sure?"

"I saw her. She was suffering so much, he hurt her. I need to help her; I need to set her free!"

"What are you saying? You cannot cross him!" Ren was known to torture people who were against him, putting their bodies to rot on Muramasa's central square.

"I cannot let her be like that!" she banged on the table. "My father would never forgive me. He did not raise a coward!"

"You are not a coward, no one is saying that. But your brother is a lunatic. And he had a lot of men on his side. He only wants a reason to cast you aside from the state, do not risk yourself." Shuichirou tried to touch her face but she moved away, looking at him angrily. "Kaori?"

"I am sorry for bothering you." She stood up and grabbed her cloak on the way to the door.

"Wait!" Oishi held her arm and she turned around, a deep frown on her beautiful face.

"Let me go! It was foolish of me thinking you would help me. You abandoned me when I needed you the most. Why would you help me now?"

"Kaori…" he looked so hurt. "You know it is not true."

"You left me alone there, with him! To witness all the horrible, disrespectful things he does!"

"I asked you to come with me." He replied, very patiently.

"I cannot leave Muramasa under his whim. I cannot abandon my people. Even if I am just a woman."

Kaori held her breath when Shuichirou embraced her, tightly, her chin on his shoulder.

"Please, let me explain now what you did not let me before. I could not be there under this command too. I could not support him, what kind of man would I be? How could I stay by your side after selling my soul? How could I touch you with my hands tainted with blood?"

"Shuichirou…"

"You are Muramasa's rightful leader. The law is unfair." He touched her soft hair and inhaled the sweet perfume he had missed so much. "Do not say you are just a woman. You are the most incredible and fierce woman I ever met." He whispered on her cheek. "You are the only one I ever loved. I love you still."

The tears from missing him that she held deep inside her heart overflowed with his sweet words and the proximity of his body. She looked at him and Shuichirou touched her moist cheeks with his thumbs, before kissing her deeply.

When she kissed him back, Oishi picked her up on his arms and took her to his bed. On that cold night, Kaori worries and sadness were able to be forgotten for a momento on the reunion of their bodies and the warmth of Shuichirou's skin against hers.

###############

Kaori returned to the castle before the break of dawn, going inside from a secret passage on the outside gardens. She noticed everything was very quiet and she found strange. Crossing the hallways of the rooms, she stopped for a while in the half opened door of her brother's chambers. He was sleeping with two unknown women on his bed, some loose sheets around their naked bodies. She took a deep, annoyed breath, before continuing to walk towards the down stairs. Reaching the basement, she went inside the dark room where the mermaid was. The poor thing was against the wall, shrunken with fear, tiredness and hunger.

Kaori picked up a small bowl of fresh water from a bucket close and walked towards her direction when one of the guards appeared in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Kaori-sama, but, your brother told us no one could offer her anything."

"Take him out from those whores and tell him to drag me from here again if you want." She said, seriously, before going around him and staying a few steps away from the mermaid.

"Kaori-sama, be careful, she can hurt you!" Another guard said.

"You will not hurt me, right?" she smiled at the mermaid, which looked at her with a fearful expression. "It is alright." She placed the water bowl in front of her.

They had changed the chains on her, now she was using them on her ankles and wrists, tied on the wall.

The mermaid sniffed the fresh water and picked up, drinking everything in one big, desperate gulp.

"I am sorry." Kaori whispered. "I am so sorry."

The young woman looked at her, not understanding her words.

"Please, be strong. I will you set you free. I promise you."

#############

The mermaid had an apressive expression on her beautiful face, still sitting in front of the door. It was already night and the weather was horrible again.

She was worried about the human and his delay. Ryoma had taught her to start the fireplace and she did it as soon as it became dark and rolled herself inside the heavy blanket, waiting anxiously for him.

It took another half an hour before the door opened and she stood up, with a big smile, while Ryoma entered the house.

He looked at her and showed her a couple of bunnies he had caught.

"Here, we will have food for some more days."

She noticed his face was covered in sweat and his eyes were heavy.

The mermaid ran to him and held his body, before his knees failed on him.

Laying him down and removing his coat, she realized his skin was extremely cold and it was hard for him to breath. She cupped his face with a worried look on the scarlet eyes. There was a weird yellowish tone on the cuts of his arms.

"Me…medicine." He raised his hand very slowly and pointed to a small bookcase on the kitchen with different glass bottles. It was the only thing he was able to do after his golden eyes closed due to the intoxication.


	5. Chapter 5

Oishi smiled when he saw Kaori near the docks with some fishermen.

He waited until the conversation ended and came close while she was looking at the boats.

"Hello." He said, gently, on her back.

She turned around, surprised.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Well, I came to see you. And invite you for a warm meal on his windy day."

"I cannot go, I am busy." She averted her eyes.

"Please." He smiled at her. "I will treat you. You own me after abandoning me alone in bed."

"Keep your voice down!" she whispered with a profuse blush on her face.

"Let's go to the place you like. With the soup."

Kaori gave in. That gentle smile and those kind green eyes could be terribly persuasive.

###########

They sat on a private booth, on the most distant corner of the restaurant. The owner, a middle-aged kind woman, was very glad to see them there. It didn't take long for their meal reached the table.

Shuichirou watched Kaori eating silently for a while, she seemed very uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." She answered, quietly.

"I was really happy to see you last night. I hoped you would stay more. I really missed you."

"I am sorry I left you alone." Her pink eyes were sincere. "But, I had things to attend early in the morning, so…"

"I understand." He interrupted her words, touching her hand gently. "You always work the most when winter is coming."

"I still could not find a new doctor." She said, worried. "No one wants to come to live in Muramasa since Ren became the lord. People are afraid."

"What about Ryoma? Do you have any news on him?"

She moved her head negatively.

"It is a shame. He was very good. I thought he would try to keep in touch with you at least."

"Can you blame him?" Kaori smiled, sadly. "Ren almost killed him."

"He was always jealous of Ryoma, since he was brought in to the castle. Even not being a legitimate child, he looks just like your father."

"Do you think I am a horrible person? For liking my half-brother better than my own twin?"

"Of course not." He touched her face and caressed her cheek, wanting to undo the pained look on the pink eyes.

"Sometimes I wished he was the one born with me." She closed her eyes, enjoying his touch. "He would never torture someone."

"Are you talking about the mermaid? Did you see her again?"

"I did. He is not giving her any food. The guards told me she has some powers and that Ren is not able to touch her because of it." Kaori looked at him seriously. "I will set her free, Shuichirou. I will not give up."

He chuckled and distanced himself a little from her.

"What is it?"

"I knew you would say that." Oishi smiled at her. "I will help you."

Kaori stood up and sat by his side, the pink eyes hopeful.

"Really?!"

"Just, tell me your plan."

She grabbed his kimono and pulled him close to a deep kiss, enjoying the privacy of the boot. Before Shuichirou could hug her, she stood up and looked at him, happily.

"Thank you!"

"Are you leaving already?"

"I still have work to do. I will see you later!"

He couldn't ask what she meant. Kaori left in a hurry, her heart filled with determination.

############

Ryoma opened his eyes slowly. He could sense the fluffiness of a blanket over his body and the noise of the fireplace crepitating. Three days had passed since he fell ill. His head was still spinning, but he was comfortable and his body was not shaking anymore. He tried to move, but he couldn't. looking down, he realized the young woman was holding him close and she was sleeping soundly by his side. Completely naked.

His shocked scream startled her and Ryoma's back was against the wall, his heart jumping. He tried to hide his naked body putting the blanket over his hips and looked at her with wide golden eyes.

"What…what happened?!"

The mermaid crawled in front of him, her hair covering her body and sat down, touching his face and analyzing his expression. Cupping his face, she grinned, relieved. His body temperature was finally normal.

"Ryoma, you are awake." Her voice was very gentle and sweet. "You are finally awake."

"What?!" he touched his head with both hands. "Oh, no! I'm hallucinating!" he looked at her like he was about to have a heart attack.

The mermaid took his hand and put it over her chest, looking deep inside his golden eyes.

"You are not." She showed him a small smile. "I don't know what happened too, but, after my mouth touched yours, when I was giving you the medicine, I was able to talk."

"What… what you mean our mouths touched?!" it was the only thing his brain was able to be worried at the moment. "And why are you naked?!"

"Your clothes were soaked in cold sweat and your body was freezing. I was warming you up. And, touching lips were the only way for me to give you the medicine." she was worried. "Was it wrong?"

"No, not at all." He was able to calm down to avoid making her feel bad. "Did you gave me all those?" he pointed to his shelf and the empty bottles.

"Yes!" she smiled.

" _She could have killed me with so many herbs._ " He thought to himself, relieved it didn't happen. "Thank you so much. You must have been afraid, right?"

Her fingertips touched the side of his abdomen. There was a deep scar there. She looked at him concerned.

"Did you hurt yourself more? Is it better now?"

"Don't worry. It happened a long time ago. It doesn't hurt anymore."

She noticed a hint of sadness on his eyes and she came closer, sitting on his lap and leaning her head on his chest. Ryoma swallowed hard with the proximity of her nakedness. He froze on his spot and held his breath. He was afraid of making the wrong move and she would bite his hand off, or, something else, since he had nothing else but the blanket to protect his body.

"I'm sorry I bit you before. I was afraid."

"Don't worry about it." He said, sincerely. "But, know, since you can speak, tell me, who are you? Where are you from? What happened to you?"

He noticed her whole body stiffened.

"Someone took me away from home. For many days. I don't know why, but… I was terrified." She touched her human legs and looked at them with a sad expression. "It hurt so much."

"I'm sorry."

"Someone helped me and I ran away." She looked at him with pained eyes. "But, they hurt me again and I couldn't swim. I tried and I tried, but I couldn't."

"It's okay." He touched her beautiful face. "You don't have to tell me anymore. I'm sorry for making you remember that. No one will hurt you again. You are safe."

"Thank you for saving me." She hugged him tight.

"Likewise." His chin rested on the top of her hair and he tightened the embrace. "Do you have a name?"

"Name?" she looked at him again, curiously.

"How people call you."

"No. I was always alone, since I was little."

"You need a name." there was a deep frown on his face from the thinking. He examined her face, looking for some characteristic, but soon it was very obvious. "Your eyes and your hair."

"What about them?"

"They are like… spring flowers in bloom." His fingers touched a lock of her red hair and she smile gently. "Sakuno."

"Sakuno?"

"For your name. What do you think?"

"I like that." she returned to lean on his chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeats. "I'm Sakuno."


	6. Chapter 6

"Ren, Kaori, come here." The tall and handsome man with dark hair called his children, gently. The twins were playing on the garden of the castle. It was a beautiful spring morning and there were flowers everywhere. They were 5 years old.

"Yes, _Chichiue_?" the little girl was the first to come. Her father kneeled in front of her. On his arms there was a small baby, wrapped inside a wool blanket. He had shiny black hair, just like their father. The child was sleeping soundly.

"What is that?" Ren asked, seeing the baby boy.

"This is Ryoma." Their father said, with kind eyes. "He is your little brother."

"Little brother?!" Kaori was amazed. The baby moved inside his father's arms and yawned. "He is so cute!"

"Can you two help me out to take care of him?"

"Yes!" Kaori grinned, but Ren made a face.

"You have me and Kaori." He crossed his small arms. "Why one more?"

"You will be a big brother now. Isn't nice?" he tried to touch his son's hair but the little boy distanced himself.

"Don't wanna." He said, before giving the baby a small slap, making the child cry.

"Ren!" his father called out, but he had already ran away, returning to the insides of the castle.

"Don't cry, don't cry. It's okay, I'm your big sister and I will take care of you." Kaori said, gently caressing the baby's hair. He stopped crying and looked at her with his curious golden eyes.

"Thank you, Kaori." He hugged his daughter with his free arm and kissed her forehead.

##############

"Ren, stop it!" Kaori screamed at her twin while he rolled on the floor of the living room, fighting with Ryoma. The twins were 15 and their half-brother was 10. "You are going to hurt him!"

The boys were grabbing each other's clothes and growling to one another. Even being younger and shorter, Ryoma didn't give up. He tried to hit his brother with a punch, but Ren dodged and laughed at him. He was on top and punched Ryoma on his face, making a bruise on his cheek. He was about to hit him again when their father's hand stopped him, pulling the boy up.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, seriously, a deep frown on his face.

"Ryoma, are you okay?" his sister asked, coming close and trying to examinated his face. The boy ran away from her, ashamed.

"That is right!' Ren grinned. "Run away, you coward!"

His father held him firmly by his shoulders.

"You were the one who hit someone smaller than you. It is shameful, Ren, your behavior."

Ren averted his eyes, angrily and the Muramasa lord released his older son. Kaori came close to her father, worried.

"Chichiue, Ryoma is…"

"That is okay." He smiled gently at her. "I will talk to him."

Ryoma was sitting under a big tree in the gardens, his black bangs covering his eyes. His father came close and sat by his side, touching the boy's back.

"Are you okay? Let me see your face."

"I am fine." He replied, quietly.

"I am sorry for what happened. I will make sure Ren apologizes to you, but you cannot give in on his teasing. No matter what he does or say, you…"

"He called me a bastard." He looked at his father and he noticed the glistering of tears on his golden eyes. "What is that? Kaori got mad and grabbed his collar. He was about to slap her, when I stopped him."

"You defended your sister." His hand caressed the boy's hair. "I am proud of you."

"What is a bastard, _Chichiue_? Why does Ren hate me so much?"

"He does not hate you."

"He does!" the boy stood up. "He is always beating me, destroying my books and calling me names! Why is that so? Is about the bastard thing he said?"

"Ryoma…" his father gently touched his bruised face. He didn't know things were that bad between them. "A bastard is someone who was born outside a wedding lock. It means your mother and I were not married. And, indeed, we were not."

"So… I am really a bastard." The boy looked down, sadly.

"Listen to me." his father touched his chin, making him look at his dark eyes. "Yes, the relationship with your mother was an indiscretion of mine but, I wanted you in the moment I knew you existed. I waited anxiously to bring you here."

"Ren said my mother did not want me."

"The kind of job she had, it was hard for her to raise a child. She entrusted you to me."

"What do you mean?"

"I will explain better when you are older." He hugged his son. "And I will make sure your brother never says such thing to you anymore. You are not a bastard. You are my child, just like Ren and Kaori. Do you believe me?"

"Yes, _Chichiue_." His little heart was happy.

"Let's go back and apply some ice on that face of yours, okay? Your sister is worried about you." he stood up with a smile and Ryoma held his father's hand, returning home by his side.

###########

"Can I talk to you?" the Muramasa's lord entered his older son's room. Ren was on the outside porch, his purple hair moving slowly with the wind.

"Did you finish coddling your favorite son?" he asked, sarcastically , when his father sat by his side.

"He told me about the things you did. Why do you treat him like that? You are his older brother; you have the obligation of protecting him."

"I do not want to be around a whore's son." He scoffed and his father grabbed the arm, making the teen look at him.

"He is your brother." His words were dead serious. "You both have my blood on your veins. Ryoma, like Kaori, will be your ally someday when I am gone. Life as a lord is hard. You will need as much help as you can possibly find."

"I do not need them." The boy replied, pulling his arm and releasing himself. "I will be a proper ruler with my own strength."

His father took a deep breath. That boy still had much to mature. He stood up, tired, and looked at Ren.

"Do not ever raise your hand against your siblings again or do anything bad towards Ryoma. That is your first and last warning."

Ren's pink eyes accompanied his father's figure as he left, his heart beating fast, filled with anger.

##############

"Do not." Kaori's trembling hands held Ren's sword blade tightly. Her blood mixed with Ryoma's. She had stopped the sword from crossing his body and her twin to kill their younger brother. "Please, do not hurt him." She begged, the pink eyes looking at his.

"Get out of my way, Kaori!" he shouted, enraged.

"Kaori…" Ryoma whispered his sister's name, his clenched teeth from the deep pain he was feeling for having the side of his abdomen perforated.

Things between them only got worse after their father's death. Ryoma had become Muramasa's doctor and, on that night, Ren had returned home completely drunk and destroyed everything on his office, his books and the medicine he had prepared to help their people. Ryoma entered the place and they started to argue terribly.

When Kaori arrived at the room, Ren had already attacked Ryoma and was about to kill him when she put herself between them.

"He is our brother. Please, Ren! I will do anything. Please."

He looked at her for a few minutes and retrieved the sword. Kaori hugged her younger brother and tried to stop the bleeding, pressing her hands on the wound.

"Ryoma!"

"I wonder if you would do the same for me." Ren said, looking at them, his eyes glistering with the fire of the lanterns swinging on the walls. "Take him out of my sight and away from my city. If I ever see him in Muramasa again, I will take off his head."

##########

Ryoma opened his eyes and his heart was racing with the memories that return to his mind on that night. Two days had passed since he got poisoned from the mushrooms and he was feeling much better.

The blizzards had stopped for good and a gentle snow was falling outside. A new day was almost beginning. Looking down, he smiled. Sakuno was there, under the heavy blanket, sleeping soundly on his chest. He had explained it was not okay for them to be naked around each other and she understood. But, since that night, she would sleep by his side. Maybe she was just afraid of him being sick again.

He had left Muramasa as soon as his wound was better enough for him to walk and he didn't even get the chance to Kaori to say goodbye. He was sure his sister would hate him for it.

He looked at Sakuno's relaxed expression, her long eyelashes and the slight parted lips. After so many months living alone on that forsaken side of land, her company was able to erase some of his loneliness. Soon she would be gone. The wound on her leg was completely healed and Ryoma knew that, very soon, he would wake up to an empty house again.

The presence of someone could be addicted, he thought to himself. But, after so many horrible things happening on a short period of his life, he would enjoy it to the end. Hugging her tight, Ryoma took a deep breath, allowing himself to return to sleep with the warmth of her body close.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hello, my dear." Ren said, entering the room. His guards had taken her from the tank and her human body was still wet and her long hair was glued on her naked figure. The scarlet eyes narrowed when he got close and he could see her fangs. "Still in a bad mood, I see. It is a shame. You lost so much weight already. How long are you going to be stubborn?"

The shockwaves started to appear around her, but they were falling and weak, barely protecting her and Ren laughed. The only got to eat when Kaori was able to sneak in without the guards looking.

"See? He got even closer and kneeled in front of her, smiling. "You are too weak to protect yourself."

The shockwaves stopped for a moment and her features softened. The young man stretched his arm and touched one of the red locks. The mermaid looked at him, interrogating the pink eyes.

"There you go. Much better now, right?" he asked, his fingers brushing her cheek slowly. "Just be a good girl and I will not hurt you."

#########

When Kaori arrived at the basement, the guards had finally been able to retrieve Ren from the mermaid. He was holding his head and there was blood all over his right hand and shoulder.

She looked at the mermaid and her face and body was also covered with her brother's blood, his ear on her fangs. Kaori froze on the door, unable to do or say anything due to such horrible sight.

It was like the mermaid was possessed and she was making an incredible effort to jump over Ren, hurting her wrists and ankles pulling the chains with all her incredible strength. Kaori was sure that, if the chains were lighter, her brother would be dead by now.

"You fucking bitch!" Ren screamed, when she spit his ear on the floor. "You will regret this, you will rot on those chains and I will feed your body to the dogs!"

The mermaid smiled and licked her lips, while the young lord was taken away to receive medical care.

##########

Shuichirou woke up and his eyes focused on the empty side of his bed. It was already morning. His heart was tight for a moment, imagining Kaori had left him again without saying goodbye, but when he sat down, he smiled. The Muramasa's lady was sitting on a chair, her eyes focused on the fireplace burning. A week had passed by since they last had lunch together. She had knocked on his house again, in the middle of the night, but didn't say anything before cupping his face and kissing him deeply. Soon, his clothes were on the floor and they were on his bed.

He observed her. Her long purple hair was tight on a bun and the light blue furisode was half opened over her naked body. Oishi could see part of her breasts and the smooth belly he had kissed so much a few moments before. Her beauty always struck his heart and he felt very lucky for being chosen by her.

"A golden coin for your thoughts." He said, gently, making her look at him and smile.

"I am sorry, did I awake you?"

"No." Kaori stood up and walked towards him, giving him a soft kiss before sitting by his side. "You are thinking about the mermaid again, right? Tell me. That is why you came tonight."

"Yes." Her thumb brushed his cheek. "But it was not the only reason. I wanted to see you too."

"I am glad, then." He kissed her palm.

"I think it's better to wait until snow starts to fall and get thick to let her go."

"Why is that?"

"It would be harder for the guards to find her in a blizzard. And to move around with the horses, looking for her."

"It makes sense. Do you think the mermaid can wait that long?"

"She is very strong. I am sure she can handle it."

"How can I help you?"

"I will need you there to open the gates while I deal with the guards."

"What about Ren?"

"I will deal with him too." She gave him a long kiss. "I need to go now. I need to be on the castle before Ren wakes up."

"Okay." He caressed her cheek, before kissing her back.

#############

"It is all good." Ryoma had a small smile on his face, removing Sakuno's last bandages from her leg. There was a small scar, but it had finally healed completely. "Can you stand and put your weight on this leg?"

Sakuno obeyed and smiled happily at him.

"It doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you, Ryoma."

"I'm glad I could help." He said, sincerely.

Sakuno looked to the windows and the sound of the waves crashing high on that crescent moon night reached her heart to the core.

Her hands reached Ryoma's face and she looked at the golden eyes.

"Sakuno, what's wrong?"

"Ryoma, can I go now?" her question surprised him. "Can I really go?"

Her words made his chest tight. He knew she had a life of her own somewhere and that she would leave, but, deep inside, he had some small, stubborn hope that she would choose to stay. He lowered his eyes and the black bangs hid his sadness.

"Of course you can. You are free to do whatever you want." He stood up, wishing to distance himself from her touch and started to walk towards the kitchen. "Let's go to sleep, tomorrow morning, I…"

The cold wind entered his house suddenly and he turned around, realizing the door was wide open. Running there, he stopped for a while, shocked to see Sakuno taking off the dark yukata she was wearing before. The moon light bathed her naked body while she ran towards the sea.

"Sakuno, wait! What are you doing?!" he ran after her, but her speed was phenomenal. He couldn't believe that she had just recovered from a serious wound.

Sakuno entered the water and, in a glimpse, she disappeared inside the strong waves.

Ryoma stood there on the sand, breathless, his hands on his knees. What had just happened?! Why did she jump inside that freezing water?!

The golden eyes tried to see her between the agitated waves, but it was in vain.

"Sakuno! Sakuno, where are you?!"

He continued to call her name for a long time, the cold making his bones ache.

"Sakuno…" he whispered, already dishearten. He was sure she had killed herself.

Ryoma was ready to return home and mourn her, when a loud sound coming from the sea reached his ears and he turned around.

He felt his entire blood freeze inside his veins and his heart dropped to the ground.

Sakuno had jumped from deep inside the sea into the surface, making a half circle movement outside the water. She smiled at Ryoma, feeling extremely happy and finally free into every core of the word.

The golden eyes were wide in absolute shock. Her beautiful legs had transformed into a mermaid's tail, the red scales glistering under the bright moonlight.


	8. Chapter 8

"Are you okay?" Kaori appeared on the door of her brother's chambers. Two days had passed since the mermaid attacked him. Ren had some bandages on his head and he looked at her with a deep frown.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanted to know you were all right." She came close and sat by his side. She tried to examinated his wound, but he moved away, abruptly.

"Go away. I do not need you."

Kaori made a bored face and put a small ice bag on his head. Ren complained, feeling a little pain.

"Why do you have to be such a violent woman?! No wonder Shuichirou left you!"

"Hold it still for ten minutes." She said, placing his hand on the ice bag. "And do not talk about him. You have no right." She said, seriously and he looked away.

There was a deep silence between them. Ren didn't know when it was the last time they talked to each other without fighting.

"Can I ask you something?" Kaori looked at him.

"What is it?"

"The mermaid. Why did you capture her?"

"Because I could." He smiled. "Because I wanted to have her."

"You are making her suffer, Ren. She does not belong here. Put herself in her place. You will not be more powerful for that.

"Why do you always have to be annoying?" he stood up from his bed and left the ice bag there.

"I am worried about you." his sister grabbed his hand. "Next time she will kill you if she has the chance. Please."

"It is the first time in my life I have something for myself, only for myself. Something I do not have to share. You would not understand."

"What are you talking about? I have always share things in my life. Even before I was born, I was sharing my blood with you. I shared _Chichiue_ with you and with Ryoma later, so…"

"It is not the same!" he distanced himself from her. "Since the beginning, he never looked at us equally. You were his favorite and then it was that bastard. He had never looked at me properly. Don't you think I know he wanted you to be the heir?"

"Ren, you are wrong." She was in front of him. " _Chichiue_ loved all of us the same way, he…"

"I am done with this conversation." He tried to leave, but she stood in front of the door.

" _Chichiue_ had high hopes for you. You are his heir, after all. There is still time, Ren. To work properly for our people, to behave properly. I am here for you; I will help you out in everything that you need me." Kaori's fingers gently touched her brother's hand. "You can still make _Chichiue_ proud. Please, Ren."

"I am not here to please that old man." The young lord said, leaving the room.

Kaori took a deep, disappointed breath. Her brother was trully beyond help.

###########

Sakuno seemed like some fairytail watercolor image when returning from the sea. Ryoma was still there, in the middle of the snow. He had fallen to his knees with such a vision, not able to believe in his eyes. It took her a while to come back. Her beautiful pale skin, the long red hair breaking the whiteness of that winter night, the scarlet eyes glistering under the moon. Drops of the ocean were running down her naked body and Ryoma thought she couldn't be even more beautiful.

She smiled at him, kneeling in front of his stunned, petrified self and touched his handsome face.

"Ryoma, you are freezing."

He distanced himself, sitting on the snow, shocked, his trembling hand pointing at her.

"You…. You are…."

"Yes?" she asked, calmly, totally oblivious to his surprise.

"You are a mermaid!"

"Mermaid?" Sakuno was confused.

"Yes! You are half human and half… half fish?"

"Fish?" she remembered when he taught her the name of food and she was a little hurt. "I am not a fish!"

"I am sorry, but... you are a mermaid."

"Is that how you called someone like me?"

Before he could say something, he started to cough. Sakuno was worried.

"Let's go to the house. It is too cold for you."

They returned to his place and Ryoma sat in front of the fire. He changed into a dry yukata and Sakuno was drying his hair with a towel. She was still entirely naked, some thick strands of hair in front of her round breasts that were in front of his eyes.

"You should put some clothes on!" he said, extremely embarrassed. "Aren't you cold?"

"Not at all." She smiled, gently.

"Really?" Ryoma finally looked at her. "Now that you mention it, the winter never seemed to bother you. But, it does make sense, since you are a mermaid and all."

She finished to dry his hair and sat in front of him.

"You got a tail just a few moments ago." He touched one of her tights. "This is amazing."

"What is amazing?"

"Ah… something extraordinary. Very, very good."

"I am good?" she was proud of herself.

"You are the best." He showed her a small smile and it made her grin. "Why did you return to the beach, Sakuno?"

"You were waiting for me, right?" she said, like it was obvious.

"You came back for me?"

"You said I was free to leave. And, even though, you were out there in the cold, calling my name. I could hear your voice echoing on the sea."

"Sakuno…"

"I want to stay here with you." The scarlet eyes looked at him. "I was always alone."

Leaning her body on his chest, Sakuno smiled.

"I want to stay by Ryoma's side. You smell good and you are so warm and soft."

He chuckled with her reasons and hugged her. She smelled like the ocean. "I would like that. I was alone too."

"Let's be alone together, then." Even though the sentence was not correct, Ryoma felt his heart tight with the meaning of her words.

"Yes."

"When the sun comes out, swim with me, Ryoma."

"Okay."

Their embrace was interrupted with Sakuno's stomach loud growl. Ryoma patted her head and stood up, starting to prepare dinner for them. He told her to get some clothes and she obeyed.

While they were eating together, he couldn't stop looking at her. She was really a mythical creature and some things made so much sense now.

He remembered the books he read on Muramasa's library about the mermaids and the stories his father used to tell him.

There was still a lot he wanted to find out about her and wanted to ask as well, but that could wait.

For now, he just wanted to enjoy that warm meal by her side and the little happiness blooming on his chest with her presence on his life.


	9. Chapter 9

The mermaid could hear the loud sound of music outside. Ren was throwing one of his private parties on his chambers. She was extremely tired and sore, not being allowed inside the tank for two weeks now. She only ate when Kaori managed to sneak in and give her some food away from the guards' eyes.

She raised her head when noticed the door opening and closing slowly.

The young Muramasa's lady got close and kneeled next to her. Kaori's gently removed her hair from her face and showed her a short white yukata.

"Here. Put this on." At first the mermaid was surprised, but she allowed Kaori to help her to get dress. "I put something on Ren's sake tonight and in some of the guards' dinner as well. It is going to be safe for you to leave."

She had a small key on her hands and opened the shackles of the heavy chains around her wrists and ankles. She had managed to get a copy from her brother's drawer when he was out. The mermaid's scarlet eyes were filled with tears when she was finally free from that terrible weight.

"Let's go!" Kaori held her hand and pulled her to the dark hallways. She had put off the lanterns before. They crossed the castle until reaching the inside garden's door. Kaori touched the mermaid's face and looked at her with a smile. "Shuichirou is waiting for you to open the gates. Run like never before. Please, be well."

The mermaid looked a little confused, but soon they heard some of the awaken guards screaming, when realizing she was not there anymore. The mermaid jumped on the snowy ground and started to run desperately. The blizzard blew Kaori's hair and she prayed she would be safe.

She was about to reach the gates when three guards appeared before her. She growled loudly at them. They tried to attacked her, but the mermaid jumped in one of the guard's shoulders and twisted his neck, making him fall dead on the ground.

When other two guards arrived, there was a pool of blood and scattered limbs. She had taken the head of one man and the other one had his intestines pulled out of his body.

The big drums of the Muramasa's castle started to echoed trough the blizzard and the remaining guards ran to the stables, to pick up the horses.

Shuichirou saw her coming from the tower above. The guards responsible for the observation tower were also sleeping. He was about to pull the ropes to open the gates when the mermaid jumped over the stone wall and landed on the other side. It was more than 15 meters high and she did it completely effortless.

##############

"Kaori!" Ren enraged scream echoed on the hallways. His steps were heavy and difficult and he leaned on the walls, looking for balance. One of the guards had told him what happened and he was sure his sister had something to do with it. "Kaori, show me your face, right now!" he banged on her chambers angrily, until he was able to push the door and he stopped, surprised for a moment.

His sister was naked on bed, on top of Shuichirou. She turned around, startled with his presence and pulled the loose sheets to her body, trying to hide herself and her lover.

"Ren! What is the meaning of this?!" it took him a while to be able to talk again.

"The mermaid is gone! Someone opened her chains and let her free! She killed three of my men!"

"A mermaid?" Shuichirou pretended to be surprised. "What is he talking about?"

Kaori wrapped herself on the furisode near the futon and stood up, going to her brother in hard steps. She had a very deep frown on her beautiful face.

"You are completely drunk, Ren. If the mermaid is gone, go scream with your guards, not with me. I had nothing to do with that." She didn't know when exactly she became so good at lying with such straight face. "As you can see, I am very busy. You are not the only one with needs, dear brother. So, please, leave me alone to enjoy my night. Unlike you, I have to wake up early tomorrow and work for Muramasa's sake."

She slammed the door on Ren's face and her heart was almost jumping outside her chest when hearing her brother distancing himself from her bedroom. She put her hands in front of her mouth to avoid screaming in pure happiness. Her plan had worked! The mermaid was finally free!

#############

Sakuno woke up with a loud noise coming from outside. She looked around and Ryoma was not there. The mermaid stood up and opened the door.

"Good morning." Ryoma showed her a small smile. He was cutting some logs to the fireplace. "I am sorry, did I wake you?"

"What are you doing?" she came close, curiously.

"Preparing some firewood. Ours is almost finishing."

"Firewood?" she touched the axe's handle. "What is this?"

"It's an axe. We use it to cut thick stuff." Every day he explained something new to her.

Sakuno went to a piece of wood and cracked opened with her bare fingers, like breaking a small stick apart.

"This way is easier, Ryoma." She grinned and his jaw dropped.

"How… how did you do that?!"

"With my hands." She shrugged.

"Don't do such a thing! You can hurt yourself!" he was really worried. Dropping the axe, he came close and checked her hands for cuts or splinters.

"It doesn't hurt." She smiled.

"Anyway, don't do it. Okay?"

"Okay! Can I go to the sea?"

"Yes. I will be here for a while. I will watch you from here."

She removed her clothes in front of him and he turned his face away, deeply embarrassed.

"Stop being naked around me so easily!"

Sakuno giggled before starting to run towards the sea.

A week had passed since Ryoma found out she was a mermaid and every day, for a couple of hours, she would go to the ocean.

Ryoma would stay there on the beach, watching her, until she returned.

He would wrap her wet and naked form on a towel and held her close until they reach home. He was glad her scarlet hair was so long, reaching almost her knees. That way, when wet, it could help to hide her naked body and preserve her modesty a little.

When the wind was not so cold, sometimes he would sit very close to the waves and he could see her mermaid form when she jumped outside the water, just like a dolphin.

Sakuno would turn on her back, looking at the sky or closed her eyes while the waves gently rocked her body and Ryoma wondered about her thoughts.

Those quiet and unextraordinary days were filled with happiness and Ryoma wished they could remain like that forever.

It was already lunch time when Sakuno returned. Ryoma was able to cut a whole pile of firewood and she helped him carry it inside the house after putting her clothes back. Ryoma was stunned with her strength.

He was able to hold back a lot of questions about her mermaid particularities for those days, but he was on the edge of his curiosity. Sakuno noticed the intense way the golden eyes looked at her while they were having lunch on the porch and she stopped eating, smiling at him.

"Ryoma, is everything all right?"

"Ah!" he felt like a child being caught doing something naughty and averted his eyes. "Nothing… I was just…"

Sakuno moved a little close to him and battered her long eyelashes.

"Yes?"

"Well, I have a lot of questions about you and…" he was shy.

"You can ask."

"Does it hurt? When you change to human legs?"

"It only hurt once." He noticed a little sadness on her eyes. "When I was forced outside the water."

"By that person who hurt you?"

"Yes." She touched his hand. "But, it doesn't hurt anymore. Since I am with you."

"That is good."

"Do you want to touch them?" she placed both of her legs on his lap. "You can."

Ryoma blushed completely, but his curiosity was bigger than his embarrassment. He was still a doctor after all and he had seen her legs before, after so many days treating her injury.

He pushed away the yukata's cloth and his hands gently touched her. Her skin was so smooth.

"You have always been warm and your blood is warm too, even though you are a mermaid and can handle cold." He carefully touched the scar on her thigh. "Does it bother you?"

She moved her head negatively and he was at ease. He could feel all the regular human bones on her legs and knees. He touched her round calf and examined the muscles there too.

"It really is amazing. And they all come together to make your tail somehow. There is no logical explanation to it. Just magic, indeed."

"Do you want to touch me when I am in the water?" she was enjoying his touches very much. Ryoma's hands had some calluses on them because of the manual work he had to do to maintain the house, the fishing and the hunt, but they were still very gentle.

"Can I?!"

"Yes." He grinned.

"When winter finishes I will swim with you. Otherwise I would freeze to death."

"What happens after winter, Ryoma?"

"We have spring. The temperature gets warmer and there are flowers everywhere. It is beautiful."

"Flowers?"

"Ah, they are little plants with different colors. I cannot explain correctly, but I will take you to see them when the times come."

"Okay."

His hands moved to her delicate feet. Her nails were like little white pearls. He checked her ankle, the bones on her feet and her toes. When he touched her sole, Sakuno giggled.

"Are you ticklish here?" he touched it more and she started to laugh.

"Stop it!"

She placed one foot on his cheek and pushed him away.

"Okay, okay." He said, stopping to tease her.

Sakuno smiled at him and sat on his lap, her body leaning on his chest. Ryoma took a deep breath and held her, his chin on the top of her head.

"Sakuno?"

"Yes?"

"How do mermaids have children?"

"Children?" she looked at him.

"Yes. Little ones. A baby."

"What's a baby?"

"I really wanted to have some books with me right now." He signed. "A baby is a small person. Like you and me, but, it is really small and does not talk or walk."

"What does it do?"

"Just cries, basically. And sleeps and eats. How do mermaids have them? Do you lay eggs or something? Like fish?"

"I am not a fish!" she protested again.

"I am sorry, I am sorry!"

"But, I saw little ones before. On the ocean."

"With other mermaids?"

"Yes. A big group. There were so many of them."

"Did you talk to them?"

"I tried but they couldn't understand me. Our tails were different." She lowered her face. "They talked to me, but I couldn't understand them either."

"Maybe you can only communicate between your own group."

"I was really happy when I was able to understand you, Ryoma." Sakuno looked at him and smiled.

"I am glad it happened too. Even if I was about to die."

"So, tell me more about the babies. How are they made?"

"Aaaah! Well…" he blushed.

"Yes?"

"People need to… have sex to make a baby."

"Sex? What is sex?" he could feel the sweat on his back. Why was he acting like a teenager? He was a grown man and he was a doctor! He had explained about pregnancy and birth to other people before! "Do you have sex, Ryoma?"

"Not at all!" he blurted out. "It is something very important and you should only do it with someone you love!"

"Love?"

"Yes! If you do it otherwise, a child can suffer."

He remembered when Ren brought a couple of prostitutes to his chambers and tried to force him to have sex with them. He was only 15 at the time and he was terrified.

He escaped to his sister's room and stayed there the whole night, crying in silence, in a mixture of embarrassment and fear. His father was traveling back then and he made Kaori promised she wouldn't talk to him about it.

The word "bastard" came to his mind once again and Sakuno noticed he looked troubled.

"Ryoma, what's wrong?" she touched his face and looked at him, worried.

Her sweet voice made him stop thinking about those bad times and he showed her a small smile.

"Nothing. I am okay." He hugged her tight, looking for some comfort.

They continued to stay there, silently holding each other, listening to the sound of the waves moving gently on the blue ocean.


	10. Chapter 10

"So, Kaori-sama, how are things with you?" the elderly lady asked, gently. They were playing shogi at her home. Mariko was a beautiful woman with long silver hair, the late's Muramasa's lord counselor and dear friend. She had retired one year before his death. Even though, she continued to give Kaori advice and spend time with her.

"The same." Kaori replied, moving a piece forward on the board. "Shuichirou proposed to me again."

"He really treasures you, the young Oishi." She smiled. "So, what is your response this time?"

"I did not give him an answer yet. But how can I accept it? He does not want to be anywhere near Ren and I cannot abandon Muramasa with him. The state would collapse and the people would suffer." She smiled, sadly. "I still cannot understand why he would choose someone so troublesome like me."

"You are strong, Kaori. Your preoccupation with others and your responsibility sure is a great attractive." She moved another piece forward. "You will be a good mother someday."

There was a slight blush on Kaori's face.

"I cannot even imagine such a thing."

"You should. Everyone deserves a loving family." The lady looked at her gently. "You especially, after everything you been trough with that brother of yours. Is he still obsessed about the mermaid?"

"Yes." She sighed. "He is offering rewards and hired fishermen to look for her. He is spending a lot of the state's money on this."

"The young lord is only wasting his time as well." Mariko moved another piece. "Is highly unlikely he will see another mermaid on his lifetime. The clan that lived on Muramasa's waters is long extinct."

"What do you mean?"

"Merpeople live in clans, like big families, lead by a matriarch. They have different colors of hair, eyes and tail that indentify them. The clans can be as big as 100 individuals. And they have really long lives. Two centuries ago, one of Muramasa's noble families started to hunt them. They were caught on fishing nets or with harpoons, cornered on the beach. The scales of their tails were sold as precious jewels and their meat was a delicacy."

"That is horrible!"

"When I was a child, there were completely gone already. It really surprised me when you told me about Ren's mermaid. Maybe she got lost from her clan and arrived here by mistake."

"I just hope she is safe." Kaori said, sincerely. "I wished I could apologize for everything she suffered. I just could not watch Ren torture her, after everything he made Ryoma go through."

"About Ryoma-kun, any news on him?"

"Not at all." The pink eyes were filled with sadness.

"You really miss him, right?"

"Every day. I wish I could be braver and protect him properly back then."

Mariko touched Kaori's hand gently and smiled at her.

"You were always a wonderful big sister. I am sure Ryoma-kun really misses you too."

###############

"Sakuno?" Ryoma appeared on the porch of the house and Sakuno was there, laying down and looking at the stars. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking."

"What are you thinking about?" He laid by her side and looked up as well.

"Many things." She moved her head and looked at him. "Ryoma, what is love? You didn't explain to me."

"Ah, well… there are different types of love."

"Really?"

"Yes. There is the love you feel for your family."

"What is family?"

"People you are connected by blood. A father, mother, brother and sister. Remember when I told you about babies? A father and a mother make babies."

"With sex?!"

"Ye...yes." he was a little embarrassed when she said the word so enthusiastically. "If they have more than one baby, they have children, brothers and sisters."

"Do you have those?"

"I used to." He smiled, sadly, remembering his father and Kaori. "But, not anymore."

Sakuno touched his face and looked at him worried. He tried to hide his sadness and continued to talk.

"There is also romantic love. When you really like someone. Usually when a man and a woman love each other, they have sex and create a family."

"A man?"

"I am a man. You are a woman. Well, sort of."

"How do you know the difference?"

"Our bodies." He put Sakuno's hand on his chest. "This part is different, see. Other things as well."

She looked at him curiously at one moment and then she sat down and pulled the collar of her yukata, showing her cleavage to him.

"It is really different. What is the name of these, Ryoma?" she asked, innocently. He turned around, with a deep blush on his face.

"Brea...Breasts."

"Breasts." She repeated slowly. "Why do I have those and you don't?"

"Ah... when a woman has a baby she needs them to feed the child, so..." he sat down suddenly and looked at her. "Wait a minute. That is right, you have breasts. And you have a bellybutton too!"

"Belly...button?"

"This." He put her finger on her belly and she noticed it. "See? When humans have a baby, there is a cord. When we are born, the cord is cut and this is kind of a scar."

"Humans are complicated." Her sentence made him chuckled.

"We sure are. But, if you have them, it means that mermaids carry their children and feed them like us!"

"So I can have a baby?"

"You probably can. When you find another one of your kin. And fall in love." He smiled gently at her.

"How do I know? If I love someone?"

"Well... you want to be around the person all the time. You want to see her smile and happy. You want to take care of her and protect her. To have the person you love close. There are many other things, but I think these are the main ones, so..."

His words stopped then Sakuno cupped his face and looked at him seriously. Her thumb brushed his cheek and her body got close to his.

"Sakuno?"

"Ryoma..." the scarlet eyes looked deeply at the golden ones. "I think I love you."

Her words made his heart clench inside his chest. Ryoma distanced himself from her and averted his eyes.

"What are you saying?" he showed her a small smile. "That cannot be. You are confused."

"I am not." She said, sincerely. "I have been thinking about it for a while now. The reason I feel so safe and well by your side. Your voice and your smell, I memorized them already, I could find you anywhere." Sakuno put both hands over her heart. "When you got poisoned, I was afraid you would never open your eyes again. I was so afraid."

"Sakuno..." he was very touched with her words and the gentleness of her voice talking about him.

"When our lips touched, I felt something like never before. Like I was giving part of my life to you, so..."

"It is impossible." His voice was harsh and he lowered his face, the dark bangs over his eyes. "You cannot be in love with me, because you did not even know what it meant until a few minutes ago. I saved you and you are probably over attached because of it. We are together all the time, it is only natural you would memorize things about me." He scoffed. "It is not like I am special or anything like that."

A soft wind moved her hair and his clothes and he looked at her with a deep frown on his face.

"I have nothing. I live in this small house, barely surviving." _I am a coward that ran away. I am a bastard that cannot offer you anything._ He completed on his mind. "So, for your own good, it is for the best you are only mistaken about your feelings and..."

Sakuno's big tears stopped his words. They marked her beautiful face and she sobbed, before standing up and leaving in a hurry, without looking or saying anything to him. Even not knowing the meaning of all the words Ryoma used, his body language and tone of voice made her feel small and rejected.

When Ryoma reached the beach, her yukata was on the sand. He called her name many times, but she had already disappeared deep inside the dark sea.


	11. Chapter 11

"Kaori-sama, you really came!" the overweight middle-aged man smiled when she came close. She had just arrived to the rice's seller's house. It was the celebration of his only daughter's wedding. The skies were clear and the front garden of the humble house was filled with the first blooms of the new spring. A small band was playing near and everyone was happy.

"Thank you so much for inviting me." She replied gently. The young lady was wearing a bright red furisode filled with white flowers and her hair was tight on a ponytail.

"Daughter, come here!" he called the bride and she came close, shyly. It was a beautiful young woman with dark hair and kind eyes.

"It is an honor to have you here today, Kaori-sama." She made a reverence.

"I came to wish you happiness and health to your children when they come." She placed a small bag of golden coins on the bride's hand. "I hope this small gift can be at use."

"Oh!" her father got nervous. "Kaori-sama, you shouldn't mind! It's too much, we can't accept and…"

"Please, do." She smiled gently. "I will be heartbroken otherwise."

They were unable to protest anymore.

Kaori was under a big tree, watching the party, when Shuichirou got close, standing side by side with her.

"Nice party, right?" she was surprised for a moment. The green looked kindly at her and she averted her eyes, embarrassed.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was invited, as well. His younger child is my student at school." He pointed at the little boy with dark hair running around with other children. Since Shuichirou left Muramasa's army, he started to teach at the local school.

"I see." Her expression softened.

"I missed you." he held her hand, discretely and came a little closer to her side. Oishi didn't see her for a week now. They were in good terms after the mermaid escaped and Kaori would visit him every night, but since he proposed, she stopped going to his house. "Are you avoiding me?"

"I am sorry." She confessed. "It is just… I did not know what to do; I did not want to keep you waiting for me."

"You do not have to worry about that, Kaori." He stood in front of her and looked at her seriously. "I did not say that to pressure you. I just needed you to know my feelings did not change. I do not want you only on my bed. I want to do things properly. I want us to be together for the rest of our lives. So, no matter what kind of response you are going to give me, even if you turn me down, I..."

"I will not do that!" she said, sincerely and Shuichirou smiled. She blushed profusely after realizing her words and looked down. "I did not plan to reject you at all."

"Kaori." He got even closer and she held her breath. The pink eyes were filled with nothing by him. "Can you say it properly then? Please?"

"I…" her delicate fingers squeezed his. "I will marry you, Shuichirou. I want to be your wife."

His forehead was against hers and he smiled, happily.

"Thank you."

She smiled back at him.

Suddenly, the music stopped and it called their attention back to the party.

"Ren." Kaori's pink eyes were wide in surprise. Her brother was there, with a smile on his face and with 10 guards. He came down from his horse and looked around the party.

"Well, well, what a shame. Such a lovely celebration and Muramasa's lord was not invited."

All the guests and the bride's family were extremely uncomfortable with the situation.

Before Shuichirou could do something, Kaori left his side and appeared in front of his brother, wishing to avoid a scene.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with clenched teeth.

"What are you saying? I do not need permission to do anything on my state."

"You are drunk, Ren." She grabbed his arm and pulled him close, able to smell the sake on his breath. "Go home. You were not invited here."

"Watch your tongue, dear sister." He released himself from her and looked at his twin with an annoyed expression. "You cannot tell me what to do."

"We don't want you here!" the father of the bride said, bravely. "No one here likes you!"

The young lord looked at the rice seller for a moment, before he started laughing.

"You got some nerve, fat man." He got close, looking at him from above. "I could kill you for that."

"Please, don't!" the bride ran to her father's and stood in front of him with opened arms. She looked at Ren with brave eyes, but he noticed her whole body was trembling.

Her husband tried to intervene, but Ren snapped his fingers and the guards pointed spears to everyone around him, including his sister.

"So, you are the lovely bride." His hand touched the girl's face, his thumb caressing her lips. "You are cute. Are you a virgin?"

"Ren, stop it!" Kaori tried to stop him but a guard was in front of her.

"Stop it, you bastard!" her husband also tried to act, but another guard placed the spear near his neck.

"Are you sure you want this fool to be your first one?" he whispered on her ear and a small tear ran on the girl's face. "What if I do it for you? I guarantee you would like that."

"If you touch my daughter, I will kill you!"

Ren smiled wickedly at the rice seller's words.

"Oh, really?" he embraced the young bride from her back. "What do you think if I not only take your daughter's virginity, but from all the brides in Muramasa from now on? Would that be enough for your insolence?!"

His smiled died when he felt the spear sharp tip on the back of his neck. Looking with the corner of his eye, his handsome semblance was taken by anger when realizing his sister was the one threatening him. She had pulled from one of the guards in a fast move.

"Kaori."

"I will not let you hurt anyone anymore, Ren." She pressed the spear deeper. "Let her go and leave this place."

"Or else? Are you going to kill your own brother? Are you against your own brother because of some insignificant bitch?!"

"The way you behave is disgraceful, Ren." she said, seriously. "I will marry Shuichirou soon, I am also going to be a bride. Are you going to rape me too?!"

Ren turned around in a flash and grabbed Kaori's arm, tossing her to the floor while twisting her hand. The spear was just a few centimeters away from her forehead and Shuichirou froze on his spot.

"I can always arrange someone to do it, _Nee-sama_. Do not doubt me."

"Do not call me sister anymore." The pink eyes narrow. "I am done with you."

The Muramasa's lord released her and started to distance himself back to his horse, without saying anything else. All the happiness of the wedding celebration died immediately and Kaori felt horrible and useless when the bride started to cry on her special day, being comforted by her family and her brand new husband. The only thing she could do was apologize, deeply, for her brother's cruel behavior.

###########

Ryoma sat down on the sand, after putting a small lantern by his side. He also had a bowl of vegetable soup on his hand and started to eat, his golden eyes never leaving the waves.

A week had passed since Sakuno had left and he would wait for her every day. First, he would call her name, running around next to the waves, hoping she would return to him once again, but it was in vain. Absolute, heartbreaking silence was his only response.

Ryoma finished to eat and took a deep breath. The night breeze blew his dark hair softly and he held himself inside of the heavy coat he was wearing. Winter had finished for good, but it was still a little chilly at nights. Or, perhaps, he was just missing Sakuno's warmth.

His last days were extremely long and his heart was heavy. Food had no taste and sleeping was hard. The small house seemed so vast. He missed her. Ryoma missed Sakuno's smiles and the sweet scent of her hair when she slept holding his body close. He wanted to hear, once again, her gentle "good morning" at the beggining of each day.

He wished to see her so badly. He wanted to apologize for making her cry and hug her tightly.

Ryoma stood up and shouted her name into the darkness one more time. It was a very long call and he was breathless.

He lowered his head, before turning around, collecting the lantern and the small bowl and going to his empty home. The young man remembered Sakuno's soft touch on his face, before saying she loved him. He remembered her tears and he felt extremely stupid and unworthy.

Even if she was mistaken with her words, on those days filled her absence, Ryoma was absolutely certain that the mermaid was not the only one who had fallen in love.


	12. Chapter 12

Shuichirou jumped from his horse as soon as he arrived at Lady Mariko's home. He crossed the hallways quickly, the words of Kaori's letter still on his mind. She had disappeared after Ren's horrible intrusion on the wedding celebration and he desperately worried about her.

"Shuichirou!" Kaori stood up when he entered the gardens and ran to him, holding her fiancé tight.

"Are you all right?!" he cupped her face and examinated her eyes. "Are you really all right?!"

"I am." She smiled, trying to ease his concern. "I am sorry for worrying you."

"I looked for you everywhere. I was afraid Ren had done something to you."

"I thought she would kill him when she first arrived." Mariko said, gently. She was sitting on a low table, drinking some tea. "It took her a while to finally calm down."

"Thank you so much for taking care of her." He got close and kneeled in front of her, making a deep reverence. The lady touched his hand, making him raise his eyes.

"There is no need, Oishi-san. Muramasa-sama was a dear friend; it is only my duty to stop their children to kill each other."

"So, why did you come here?"

"Look what I found on father's old books." She took an old piece of paper from her _furisode_ 's sleeves and showed it to him. Shuichirou opened and read it, carefully. His green eyes were wide in surprised and he looked back at her.

"Is this for real?!"

"Yes." Kaori pointed the Muramasa's seal and her father's signature. "Chichiue did not only register Ryoma as his son, he also made him his heir in case Ren could not run the state."

"Did you know about this, Mariko-sama?"

"I did not, Oishi-san. If you can see the date, it happened a little before Muramasa-sama passed away. Maybe he did not have the time to talk to Kaori about it."

"I need to bring Ryoma back. Ryoma can rule Muramasa's properly, I know he can."

"But… how are you going to find him? You do not hear from him for so long."

"I hired someone." Mariko said. "Ryoma was last seen on continent most isolated beach. He is leaving alone there, with no people around."

"He must be so lonely." Kaori said, sadly. "All of this is Ren's fault. I need to find my brother, Shuichirou. I just needed to tell you, so you did not think I left you."

"What are you saying? There is no way I am letting you go alone on this." He looked at her seriously. "I am going with you."

"But, what about the school? You have a life here, I cannot…" Shuichirou touched her face gently and looked straight at his eyes.

"We distanced ourselves from each other once. I will not let this happen again."

"Shuichirou…."

"Let's bring Ryoma home and fix things." He smiled at her. "It s time."

"Yes!" Kaori smiled back, feeling hopeful.

############

The sunset touched the beach with orange and red tones. Ryoma was standing in front of the waves, the golden eyes narrowed. Ten days. Ten horrible, long and lonely days since Sakuno disappeared. He was done with waiting and moping on his house.

Ryoma removed his clothes and ran to the sea, diving deep, the cold hitting his bones to the core.

He looked around for a while, before coming to the surface to take another breath. He needed to find Sakuno and talk to her. He needed to apologize and it could not wait anymore.

Ryoma dived deeper. Even being a fisherman since he moved there, it was very different to be inside the water. The different fishes, the way the sunlight entered trough the tides. Everything was so beautiful!

He noticed a tall kelp forest a few meters down. It seemed like the perfect place for a mermaid to be. Ryoma dived and swam into its direction, entering the algae, his hands pushing them away gently.

He looked everywhere, but no sign of Sakuno and he felt extremely disappointed. Ryoma was about to swim back to the surface when he saw a big shark coming close. He released some of his air with the surprise, but when he was about to swim away, he noticed his foot was entangled on the kelp. He tried to break free, but it was in vain. His movements called the shark attention and it started to swim on Ryoma's direction.

The young human was desperate. He moved even more, trying to release himself. The air was escaping from his lungs due to this effort and he started to get dizzy.

The shark opened his mouth, his full set of teeth about to bite Ryoma's chest, when Sakuno appeared between them, on her mermaid form. She showed her fangs to the shark and electric fields appeared all over her body, making a shield and protecting the human.

It was the last thing Ryoma saw, before fainting due to the lack of oxygen.

############

"Ryoma, wake up!" Sakuno's voice reached his ear and he opened his eyes slowly. "Ryoma!"

He sat down and coughed water for a while. The mermaid looked at him worried.

"Are you okay?!"

"Sa…" he was finally able to speak. "Sakuno?"

"What were you doing?!" her expression changed completely. "Why were you so deep in the ocean?!"

"I was looking for you." The golden eyes were sincere, but she stood up and looked at him seriously.

"Do not dive on the sea anymore!"

"Sakuno, wait!" he grabbed her hand and made her stop, but she freed herself from his grasp. "I was so worried about you, I…"

"Let go of me!" Ryoma noticed the scarlet eyes were glistering with tears.

"Sakuno…"

"How could you be worried? You were the reason I left!"

"I am sorry." His voice was so gentle. "I am really sorry, Sakuno."

"Just because I am not human, that I don't know all your words yet, you have no right to say my feelings are not real!" a big tear fell down her face and he felt horrible.

"I am sorry." He repeated.

Sakuno kneeled down on the sand and rubbed her face with her hands, trying to stop her sadness. The wet red hair was covering her eyes. She had never felt like that before. Her heart was tight and heavy.

Ryoma got close to her, slowly and moved a strand of hair away from her face. She sobbed and looked at his concerned expression for a moment, before averting her eyes.

"I don't like you right now." She whispered.

"I know." His thumb caressed her cheek very gently. "I was stupid. You have every right to be mad at me."

"Mad?"

"Waiting to stay away, not waiting to talk to me anymore." He explained, patiently.

"It is not like that. I really missed you. Every time I heard your voice calling me, it really hurt."

"I am sorry. I have no right to say those things to you. I was just… afraid."

"Afraid?"

"I did not want to think about my feelings for you too. What would it mean for you to be in love with me. For me to be in love with you." She looked at him surprised. "I have been avoiding people for so long, Sakuno. I was already used to the idea of being alone for the rest of my life. But, then, you showed up." He showed her a small smile. "All those days together with you, it was like something entirely new had happened inside of me."

"Something good?"

"Something amazing." He touched her lips and his mouth was really close to hers. "Sakuno, is that really okay? To be here with me, to live in that small house, with so little, in this desert beach? Is that enough? Am I enough?"

She finally touched him, her gentle palms cupping his face and the wet, soft body glued to his.

"You are everything." She whispered, before Ryoma finally kissed her.


	13. Chapter 13

Ryoma smiled, watching Sakuno sleep. It was already late in the morning, but he didn't mind. Staying in bed, enjoying laziness was okay sometimes. It seemed like the whole word was new on that morning. Everything was right and well.

After the kiss they shared, Ryoma realized he was only wearing the _fudonshi_ and it was not a very good garment for holding her so close. His face was entirely red and he quickly went to his clothes, putting them back on. They returned to his home, holding hands while the sunset colors were fading away.

After she put some clothes on ,Ryoma cooked dinner and gladly watch Sakuno eating the food he had made. He silently listened to her talking about the things she had seen on that new part of the sea and his heart was happy. Ryoma felt completely smitten.

Sakuno was holding his chest. It was like she had never left his side. His body remembered her warmth and the ocean smell of her skin and hair.

He caressed her face and the scarlet eyes opened slowly to him.

"Good morning." He said, gently.

"Good morning, Ryoma." She replied with a kind smile.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes."

"Good." Ryoma kissed her forehead. "Do you want to get up already?"

"Not yet. Here is nice." She snuggled on his neck.

"You were so beautiful on the water." He said, looking at the scarlet eyes. "Your tail, it is so beautiful."

"Really? More than the legs?"

"Everything about you is beautiful, Sakuno." His fingers caressed her face and she smiled at him, before placing her face on his chest.

They stayed in silence for a while, when Ryoma looked at her again.

"Ah! There is a place I want to take you to."

"Where?"

"It is a surprise. You will see when we get there."

"Okay." She grinned.

#########

"Come." Ryoma said, gently pushing Sakuno by her hand. They were inside the forest and it was night. They had been walking for a while now. On his other hand he had a small latern to illuminate the path. "We are almost there."

Sakuno could hear the sound of water when they came close to a pound with a small waterfall. There was steam covering all of it.

"What is this?" the mermaid asked, extremely surprised and curious. She kneeled down near the water and touched it. "It is warm!"

"Isn't it nice? It is a hot spring. You can swim in it if you want."

She smiled and got undress quickly, jumping inside the water. It took her a while to return to the surface.

"Ryoma! My legs, they didn't change!"

"Maybe because it is not the sea. It is sweet water."

"It feels so good." She rolled on her back and closed her eyes, floating. "Thank you, Ryoma."

He sat down near, his legs inside the pound. After a while, sakuno appeared in front of him.

"Why are you not in?"

"Ah…" he blushed a little, when seeing her naked chest and averted his eyes. "Well, you know…"

"Come here." Sakuno touched his hand. "Please."

She was so cute! How could he deny anything to her?

Sakuno waited with a small satisfied smile on her face while Ryoma took his clothes off and entered the water.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." The light of the full moon was over them and Ryoma leaned on the edge while Sakuno enjoyed the water.

After a while, Sakuno noticed Ryoma was taking his distance. She dived and disappeared for a moment, emerging in front of him. His golden eyes were so beautiful under the moonlight and she touched his face, examining his handsome expression.

"What is wrong?" the young human asked with a small smile and Sakuno caressed his face.

"Ryoma, can our mouths touch again?"

"It is called kissing. Do you like when I kiss you?"

"I do."

His lips covered hers and her arms were around his neck, bringing him closer. Everything was so new between, his heart was racing already. That kiss was deep and slow. His hands rested on her hips and Sakuno's fingers entered his dark soft hair.

A gentle breeze touched their naked skins and Ryoma felt goosebumps on his wet back at the same time Sakuno's entire body was glued to his in a possessive embrace. She was devouring him and the response of his body didn't take long to appear.

"Sa…Sakuno, wait." He said, moving his face, but she just continued to kiss his jaw line and his neck.

"Yes?" she whispered on the tight tendon of his neck and the human swallowed hard.

The mermaid was shorter than him, her head reached his shoulders perfectly and she started to kiss his collarbones, making his mind cloudy and not because of the water's steam.

She stopped and looked at him with a curious expression, before looking down.

"Ryoma, it is different. It is hard." She said, looking at a particular piece of his anatomy that was very much alert and rubbing against her smooth belly. She remembered seeing him naked before on the night he got poisoned by the mushrooms. "And so big."

Ryoma pushed her from her shoulders and was unable to look at her.

"I am sorry!"

"What happened?" she asked, concerned.

She didn't know! Of course she didn't know about such reaction of a young and healthy human next to a naked and wet beauty! Ryoma blushed profusely. How would he explain to her?! He could feel the cold sweat coming down his back, even inside the warm water.

But, he needed to talk to her about it! They were lovers now, right? It was only natural things would progress from kissing to something else. Even if he tried to avoid it, they were living in the same house, sleeping together and Sakuno had the habit of not caring about clothes so much. And she really, really liked to touch him.

"It changed because of you." It was the first sentence that came to his mind. "Because we were kissing like that."

"Is it a bad thing?" she came closer again. "Are you in pain?"

"No!" he blurted out, trying to undo her worries. "It is not a bad thing at all. It feels really good when we kiss. Actually…"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember when I talked to you about sex?"

"I do."

"Well, this happens because I…" he blushed profusely.

"Do you want to have sex with me, Ryoma?!" she asked, happily and it totally surprised him. "Really?!"

"You…you are not mad?" She cupped his face and he thought it was the most beautiful smile she had ever showed him.

"You said people who love each other have sex."

His heart turned around inside his chest with her words.

"That is right." He was able to show her a small smile.

"Can we do it now? You are ready, right?" her hand grabbed his manhood and he screamed, before jumping away from her.

"Of…of course not!" he said, placing his hands over the space between his legs, trying to cope with his pain.

"Why not?"

"It is not that simple. I don't know how it would work. Even if you are on a human body now and you seem to have all the female human parts, I… I don't know if we could even do it."

She looked so disappointed and lowered her face. Ryoma's chest hurt with her expression.

"Sakuno…" he came close and touched her chin, making her look at him. The scarlet eyes were filled with sadness. "Do not look like this, please."

"But!" she raised her face to argue and he kissed her, very gently, making her words stop.

"We will figure something out. My feelings for you do not change because of it."

"Really?"

"I promise." The golden eyes were gentle. "We have plenty of time to find out things between us."

Sakuno felt happy again and hugged him tightly. Ryoma hugged her back and kissed his forehead tenderly. He was glad she had accepted his explanation. He was still painful from her grasp and was completely useless if something happened.

There were many things he still needed to teach her about, but, for his own good and for the sake of actually being able to make love to her someday, he needed to explain to Sakuno how fragile that part of his body really was.


	14. Chapter 14

Ren stopped by the door of Kaori's chambers, looking at his older sister putting some clothes together inside of a small bag. He had just woken up late in the afternoon.

"What are you doing?"

"I am leaving." She replied calmly without looking at him, folding a _yukata_.

"What do you mean?" he leaned on the door and his pink eyes narrowed.

"I am going away. With Shuichirou."

"What?!"

"Why are you surprised?" Kaori finally looked at him. "I told you we were getting married."

He walked into her direction and grabbed her wrist. Kaori's calm was not shaken.

"You are going to leave your home because of him? Remember your position! Are you getting married without a proper ceremony, without your brother present?!"

"Why would I want you anywhere near me, Ren?" she moved her arm and freed herself from his hand. "You said you are going to find someone to violate me."

"You embarrassed me in front of everyone!"

"You embarrassed me every day!" her words surprised him. "I am ashamed of you. You are irresponsible and cruel. Muramasa deserves better. Up until now I was always working for you, taking over your responsibilities, hoping that you would change, but now I realize that there is no way for this to happen." She closed her bag and looked at him seriously. "I cannot bear this situation anymore."

Kaori started to walk away.

"Let's see how long you can take being the wife of a mere teacher, living on his ridiculous shack."

She stopped and turned around, smiling at him.

"I love him. Anywhere by his side is good enough. It is a pity that you will never experience this, brother. You make it impossible for anyone to care about you."

His sister left and Ren's anger built up on his head. He started to break the objects on her room and scream in frustration.

############

"Are you ready?" Ryoma asked to Sakuno. They were on his small boat, a few meters from the beach. He said he needed to fish and she offered to help him. She was sitting on the other side with a happy smile on.

"Yes!"

"I will be here waiting for you. Good luck."

She removed her yukata and dived into the water. It was a nice fresh day and the sea was calm. He was able to follow her for a while, but soon she disappeared by going deeper.

It didn't take long for her to return with a big tuna fish on her hand, dropping the fish on Ryoma's boat and surprising him.

"Here, Ryoma!" she said, with a smile.

"Wow!" the fish was about 1 meter long and was jumping strongly inside the boat. "It is huge!"

"Is it okay?"

"It is more than enough!"

She grinned, proud of herself.

They returned home and Ryoma started to clean the fish with Sakuno watching him, sitting near the kitchen. He pulled the organs out, cut the head off and started to make the fillets.

"Where did you learn to do that, Ryoma?"

"My father liked to fish. He always took us when he had spared time." He said, without taking his eyes off from the fish. "He also taught me how to cook. He used to say it was a useful and necessary skill, no matter who you were."

"Us?"

"My older sister and older brother."

"Where are they?"

It happened a long time ago." Sakuno noticed some sadness on his voice. "It was before my father passed away."

"Passed away?"

"He died." he said, quietly. "He closed his eyes and never opened them again."

"Were you sad?"

"I was. Very much. I was already a doctor when it happened, but I was not able to help him."

"A doctor?"

"Someone who takes care of people. Who knows how to use medicine and stuff."

"That is why you took care of me." She smiled.

"Yes." He replied, gently.

Sakuno watched him continue to cut the fish and she thought the movements of his hands were agile and precise. When he finished there was about 10 big pieces of meat cleaned and prepared. Ryoma picked up a small box with salt on it and rubbed the meat with it.

"What is that?"

"Salt. It will help preserve it for tomorrow, so I can take it to the next village."

"Village?"

"Ah, that is right." He looked at her, worried. "I will have to leave you here alone for a day or two. Are you going to be okay?"

"Why?" the mermaid was sad.

"Because there are people there." He covered the fishes with a clean cloth and washed his hands before coming near her, sitting in front of her. "I will have to walk around there for a while, to exchange the fish for some food and herbs. We will need them until is warm enough to prepare the vegetable garden again."

"Vegetable garden?"

"I have a little one in the back of the house. I grow some things there, like small pumpkins and _daikon_."

"What are those?"

"You will see when they grown. But they are very good on taste." He caressed her hair. "Would you help me out to plant them?"

"Yes!" she grinned. Their conversation stopped with the loud growl of her stomach and Ryoma chuckled.

"Is it almost dinner time." He stood up and showed her a small smile. "I will prepare fish soup for us. I hope you like it."

###########

Ryoma was pleased to see Sakuno enjoying his food so much. She ate eagerly and he was still amused how she learned about using the _hashi_ so fast.

"Is is good?" he had prepared soup with cooked fish stock and there was some fried fish skin and beautiful pieces of the fish belly with a layer of its fat. He seasoned with some dried herbs he still had and mushrooms he picked up from their trip to the hot spring.

She shook her head positively, before picking a big chunk of rice and eating it.

"What did you use to eat? When you were at the sea?"

"A lot of things." She answered after swallowing. "But, the things you do are so good!"

"I can teach you to cook if you want."

She looked at him with big, sparkling eyes.

"Really?!"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Ryoma!" Sakuno smiled and he was certain she was the cutest thing in the entire world.

They had an arrangement since she started to talk that he would cook and she would mind the dishes. After she finished fixing the kitchen up, they sat on his futon, watching the sky from the opened back doors of the house. It was a beautiful night with many starts. Sakuno leaned on Ryoma's chest and he was embracing her.

"Ryoma, take me with you." She said, after a long period of silence between them. "To the village."

"But, there are many people around. Are you sure you will be okay? You cannot just take your clothes off and jump into the sea like you do here."

She turned around and looked at him.

"I will do as you say. Don't leave me behind, please."

"Aren't you going to be afraid?"

"I will be with you." Her hands touched his face and she smiled.

"Okay, then." He touched her hair. "It will be a good opportunity to arrange some clothes for you. You have being using mine for a while now. You deserve something new and beautiful."


	15. Chapter 15

"Good morning, wife." Shuichirou smiled at Kaori when she woke up.

Before they left, they got married on Mariko-san's house with a priest that she called. There were not even wearing ceremonial gowns, but Mariko lent her a red furisode with golden flowers on it to be used as a bridal gown. Even though there was nothing fancy about it, Shuichirou's heart was tight, being certain that Kaori never looked so beautiful.

They left on the same night and spent their first night as a married couple inside a small inn already outside of Muramasa.

"Good morning." She blushed a little, but smiled back at him. Her long purple hair was over her torso. Shuichirou was still without clothes as well, the blanket covering their bodies from their hips.

"Are you hungry? I can ask something for us to eat."

She came close and her forehead touched his chest, her smaller body glued on his.

"Not yet."

He smiled and hugged her.

"I am sorry." Her voice was sweet. "For making you have a honeymoon on the road."

"What are you saying?" she looked at him and Oishi's caressed her face. "You finally said yes to me. There is nothing that could bring me down."

Kaori smiled and her husband kissed her gently.

"When should we leave, Shuichirou?"

"Let the horse rest for a while, at least until the sunset. We still have a long way to go. We can also rest and eat properly."

Kaori was on top of him and there was a sensuous look on her pink eyes.

"Can we also do other things?"

"Of course." He said, before sitting down and cupping her face to another kiss, deeper and serious.

################

Sakuno looked at everything amazed. They had finally arrived to Kitakama, the closet city to Ryoma's house, but still, many hours away. They had left in the morning at it was night already.

There were laterns all over the place and a lot of people walking on the wide streets. There were different types of stores and commerce. The smell from the food stalls was overwhelming.

The young human looked at her and her scarlet eyes were big in admiration and he smiled. Her long red hair was tight on a braid and she was wearing a dark green yukata and Ryoma was with a dark blue one.

"Sakuno, stay close to me so you won't lose yourself, okay?"

"Yes!" she grinned, happily.

"Let's go over there; there is somewhere we need to go."

They reached a small house with an opened front gate.

"Sakuno."

"Yes?"

"Do not be afraid and do not do anything."

"What do you mean?"

Ryoma knocked on the door and as soon as the door was opened a tall man with dark short hair and purple eyes hugged him tightly, lifting him from the floor.

"Ryoma! It's been so long! How are you?!"

"I… can't breathe, Momoshiro-san." He whispered, painfully and Sakuno didn't know what to do.

"Why did you took so long?!" he moved him around, like he was a rag doll. "I thought you were frozen dead by now!"

The sound of a baby crying from inside the house called their attention and the taller man finally put his friend down.

"Ops."

"Takeshi!" the young woman appeared in front of the door, holding a small, crying baby on her arms. She had short straight orange hair and dark blue eyes. "Stop yelling, you scared him, I had just put him to sleep!"

"My bad, Ann." he said, nervously.

"Ryoma-kun!" she finally noticed him and smiled. "You finally came. I'm sorry for my husband's silliness, please, come in!"

"Oh, Ryoma!" he finally noticed Sakuno and she was looking shyly at him. "You found yourself a girl!"

"This is Sakuno." He said, proudly.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." She bowed politely, like Ryoma had taught her.

"She is so cute!" Ann said, with a smile. The baby had stopped crying and was asleep inside of her arms again. "Don't stay at the door, come in, come in, we were about to serve dinner!"

"Thank you for having us." Ryoma said, when they entered and Sakuno looked around. The house was bigger than his but cozy and there was a good smell of food all over it.

"You don't need to be so formal." Takeshi grinned, sitting across from them on the short table on the living room. His wife was on the kitchen and she placed the baby next to his father and Sakuno looked at him curiously. "So, tell me, what do you have for me now?"

"Bigeye tuna." He said, confidently.

"Oh, really?! How did you get one of those?! They usually swim very deep!"

"Sakuno helped." He smiled, before taking the fish pieces from inside a small wicker basket. "Here."

"Wow!" he opened the silk paper wrappers. "They are beautiful! Thank you so much, Ryoma, I'm sure the costumers are going to love it!"

"Customers?"

"Momoshiro-san runs as a small restaurant on the other side of the yard. The food is really good."

"Ryoma helps me with fish and other sea food at least once a month."

"Ah, it reminds me! Happy 18th Birthday, Ryoma. Let's drink some sake to celebrate!"

"Birthday?" Sakuno asked, when Takeshi stood up to pick up a bottle.

"The day I was born." He said, quickly before he returned.

"Do not drink so much, I'm almost finishing here." Ann said, with a smile, while tending a big pot on the fire.

"Yes, dear." He grinned to her and poured Ryoma a small cup of the transparent liquid. They drank it in one gulp. "Do you drink, Sakuno-chan?"

"Ah, no!" Ryoma blurted out. He had no idea of what alcohol could do to a mermaid.

She was too concentrated on the baby to pay attention to them. The little boy was sleeping soundly inside the fluffy blanket, his belly going up and down. He had his father's hair and his mother's sharp eyes.

"He is so small." She touched his little hand and smiled when it grabbed her finger.

"He is just three months old. He was born before winter started. His name is Takeo."

"It is a beautiful name. Congratulations to you two." Ryoma said, gently.

"Food is ready." Ann said, coming close with a big bowl of udon. There was pork stock, pork meat, boiled eggs and mushrooms. The smell was amazing! Sakuno had never seen such beautiful food.

"It smells so good." She said, amazed.

"Thank you. It is just a simple dish."

"My wife is modest." He smiled at her, gently. "She is the main cook at our restaurant."

"So, Sakuno-san, how did you two meet?" Ann asked, while serving her.

"I…." she was about to start the story telling she was a mermaid when he interrupted her

"She hurt herself on the beach and I helped her out. She couldn't walk for a few days." He showed Sakuno a small smile. "And then she decided to stay."

"How could someone imagine a beautiful girl would appear on that God's forsaken place? You are so lucky!"

Sakuno smiled back at him, before starting to eat.

They talked for almost an hour, after finishing to eat, before the baby started to cry again. Takeshi said he would mind the dishes and Ann showed Sakuno their room before going to nurse the baby. Ryoma was finishing cleaning things with his friend, when he smiled at him.

"You are different."

"What do you mean?"

"You are not sulking anymore. Every time you look at her your eyes smile. I never saw you like this before. I remembered the first time you arrived here, wanting to buy food, you looked like a dog under the rain."

"Many things had happened back then." he remembered the death of his father and Ren's threat.

"We were always worried with you on that place. At least you are not alone anymore."

"Momoshiro-san, thank you for all the help you gave me back then and up until now."

"Don't mention it." He smiled gently at his friend.

##########

When Ryoma arrived their room, Sakuno was on the outside porch, looking to the starts. The soft breeze was moving her long hair. She had already changed to a light color yukata, waiting Ryoma to sleep.

He sat by her side and looked up with her.

"It is the same sky, but it is different somehow, from the beach where we live."

"It sure is."

"Ryoma, can you explain birthday better?"

"It is the day you are born. Do you know how old are you?"

"No. As long as I remember, I was always swimming alone."

"They day I found you at the beach, that was my birthday." he kissed her forehead. "It was the best birthday ever."

Sakuno smiled.

"Did you like Momoshiro-san and Ann-san?"

"Yes!" she smiled at him. "They are not scary, like you told me."

"They are a very nice couple."

"Couple?"

"They are married. Momoshiro-san is the husband and Ann-san is the wife."

"What is married?"

"It is when you make a promise to stay with the person you love." He caressed her face. "You promise to stay together and take care of each other for the rest of your lives."

"Is that after or before having sex and having a baby?"

"Before, most of the times." He showed her a small smile. Sakuno laid her head on his lap, curling her legs close and Ryoma caressed her hair.

"Their baby is so cute."

"Isn't he? Momoshiro-san was anxiously waiting for him."

"Ryoma, do you want a baby?"

"Eh?!" his entire face was red.

"Your baby would be very cute too." She moved her body and looked at him, touching his jawline. "Let's make a baby."

He could hear his heart turning around inside his chest with such proposal. She said it so calmly,, but Ryoma could notice there was no hesitance on her scarlet eyes. He could feel his blood froze inside his veins and was unable to give her a response. Before his silence, Sakuno sat down in front of him and cupped his face, investigating the golden eyes.

"You don't want to? I want to be you with you forever. I will do my best to learn the things human do to make you happy."

"What are you saying?" his expression softened and he showed her a small smile. "I am extremely happy already. You do not have to change anything about you." Ryoma kissed her softly and whispered on her lips. "You are perfect, Sakuno."

He continued to kiss her, his arms around her delicate frame in a tight embrace while Sakuno melted against his mouth.

Suddenly, taken by a raw desire to feel more of him, the mermaid's hand went inside his yukata and touched his chest and he broke the kiss, looking at her with drunken, passionate eyes.

"Sakuno..."

"I want to touch you." She said, calmly, kissing his neck. "I want you to touch me more."

Ryoma gave in on her wishes and his desires as well. He held her hand, bringing her to the futon Ann had prepared to them. They did nothing but kissing for some time before he pulled her to his lap. Ryoma wanted to memorize the taste of her lips and the feeling on his body pressed on hers. Moving a little, he pulled her yukata and, since the obi was a little loose, her delicate shoulder was showing and the upper part of her breasts. He kissed her face and neck, the sweet fragrance of her skin filling his mind.

Sakuno signed when he sucked her collarbone. With a slow pull, he undid the obi of her yukata with trembling hands. The fabric fell to the futon in a slow motion. He saw her nakedness so many times before, but now it was totally different.

His fingers caressed her breast and teased her nipple, while his mouth was around the other piece of flesh. He sucked her until making her body arch. It was the first time he heard Sakuno moan in pleasure and it made him painful on his groin.

Sakuno took the upper part of his yukata off. She nibbled his shoulders and his arms. The mermaid could feel him hard and hot, pulsing against her own flesh and she was curious about it.

Sakuno's warm hand was under the layers of cloth and her fingers were around him, gently.

"It is so soft." She put a little pressure on it and it made him shiver entirely. "But, so hard still."

"Sa…Sakuno!

"Yes?" whispering on his lips, she bewitched him with a sensuous glare. Her thumb touched the head while her other fingers went on a slow motion of up and down.

"Sakuno! Please…. Stop." He felt his other parts tight, right on the edge. It was too much! Her perfect naked form, her round breasts, the heat and wet between her tights, the movement of her soft fingers. He released a long moan on her shoulder, defeated by his self control. He had spilled himself entirely on her hand.

"Ryoma, what happened?!" she asked, worried, seeing him tremble and he felt so ashamed and small, unable to face her.


	16. Chapter 16

Ren was sitting on the balcony of his room, looking down to the city. It was night, so all he could see was some laterns on. He was with a small sake bottle on his hand, drinking slowly. The young Muramasa's lord was wearing a long dark blue yukata and his purple hair moved with the wind.

A couple of days had passed already and he was sure Kaori would return home. He was expecting his older sister to return and he would make her beg a little, before accepting her back. But, nothing of that sort happened. He should know better. His twin has always been a strong-willed woman. She only had one word. There was why people on the state liked her so much. They knew they could rely on her and she would never make empty promises.

Things were so busy since she left. There was so much he knew nothing about. Many people would come to talk to him, during the day, bothering his late mornings and his free time. His humor was horrible. Between his new obligations and the money he spent on his parties and searching for the mermaid, the state's founds were low. He had increased the taxes for the crops on that spring and people were not happy with him. He couldn't care less. Taking another sip from the sake, he smiled. Muramasa was his to do as he pleased, if people were discontent, they could just left the state. Less people to administrate would mean less work anyway.

"Excuse me, Muramasa-sama." The tall guard appeared on the balcony. "Can I speak to you?"

"What do you want?" he asked, without looking at him.

"Sir, I need to deliver you some requests from your people. They are asking about the new teacher. Shuichirou-san's classes already lost two days of school."

"I already sent a notification to the other cities, that we are hiring. No one answered so far." he was annoyed. "What else?"

"The matter about the state's doctor as well. Since your brother left, people need to travel to the other cities to look for help. It cost them time and money. A pregnant woman and a child died yesterday, because there was no medical help."

"People do not want to come to Muramasa to work. Kaori made an offer and it is still up. It is not my fault."

"I see." He answered, quietly. "Well, that was all, my lord. Thank you for your time."

Ren was about to have another drink and the guard remembered something.

"Ah, Muramasa-sama, I am sorry for asking, but, Kaori-sama was seen going east yesterday. Did she move out with her husband?"

"What do you mean?" he finally turned around, surprised.

"One of the guards informed me they were on a horse traveling."

"Hire someone to follow them. And let me inform of what is she doing."

"Yes, sir." He said, before leaving.

###########

"I see." Sakuno said, looking up the ceiling. Ryoma was laid by her side, an arm in front of his face. His entire being was burning in embarrassed on what happened and he couldn't face her.

Sakuno was not affected at all by his enthusiasm on her fingers and didn't notice his awkwardness. She was feeling even more curious about his body reaction and made him answer many questions about sex, to his absolute horror. Ryoma knew she was not going to rest until her doubts would be explain and it was better for them to talk about that in privacy than letting her ask such things when his friends were around.

"There is so much I need to learn about human bodies." She looked at him. "Ryoma?"

"Yes?" he answered, depressively.

"I'm sorry. You seemed like you were in pain, your voice was different and your body was so stiff."

"You did nothing wrong." He took a deep breath. "All the reactions I told you about, they happen because I was feeling good. Very good. And, I have never experience such things with someone before, so… that is why it happened so fast." He wanted to disappear, being forced to talk about his virginity.

Sakuno came closer and held his face, her nose was against his jawline.

"I'm happy I made you feel good."

The feeling of inadequacy disappeared with her kindness. He finally looked at her.

"I am sorry I couldn't do it."

"You said we had time. That's okay." She brushed the sweaty bangs from his forehead.

"Sakuno."

"Yes?"

"I want to do things properly. I know it may be rushed, but…" Ryoma turned around and held her hand. "Do you want to get married while we are here?"

"Get married? Like Momoshiro-san and Ann-san?" the scarlet eyes were wide in surprised.

"Yes." He showed her a small smile. "Let's return home like husband and wife."

"That means to be with Ryoma forever, right?"

"If you want to." He brought her hand close and kissed it. "Do you?"

The mermaid held him very tight and grinned. She touched his face and kissed him deeply, feeling beyond happy.


	17. Chapter 17

Ryoma stopped for a while, watching Sakuno observe the stars, sitting on the back porch of the house. He noticed that, since he taught her about the stars, she was always looking at them. She was so beautiful. Her long red hair was tight on a braid, adorned by many little white flowers that Ann put on her for the wedding. She was still wearing the two layer white and orange _kimono_ his friend's wife had lent her. There was still some carmine on her lips.

She had changed his entirely life completely in such a short time and Ryoma was sure he loved her with all his heart. He had learned so much on the mermaid's side, emotions he had buried deep inside and others he didn't even know he was capable of holding for someone else.

They got married on the afternoon, after Momoshiro and he ran around the town looking for a priest to perform the ceremony in such short notice. Takeshi lent him his dark ceremonial black _kimono_ from his own wedding and although it was a little big, he looked extremely handsome on it. Before the ceremony, he wished his father and sister was by his side and his heart hurt a little. But soon that bad feeling vanished completely when the scarlet eyes looked at him and his bride smiled.

Ryoma was now the husband of the mermaid and he felt incredibly blessed.

Momoshiro and Ann prepared a special dinner for them and they celebrated until late.

"You are still all dressed up." He said, coming close to her side, with a small smile. He had already changed to a simple _yukata_.

"I am happy." She smiled and touched his face. "I am so happy, Ryoma."

"Good. I want you to always be happy, Sakuno." He gave her a small kiss on her cheek. "We should go to bed and sleep. There are some places I want to show you tomorrow."

"Okay." He held her hand to help her stand up, but her legs failed on her and she fell.

"Sakuno!" Ryoma kneeled by her side and looked at her worried. "What happened?!"

"My legs." Her voice trembled. "They are hurting so much."

Ryoma pushed the layers of the kimono away and examinated at them. They didn't seem hurt and the temperature was normal. Sakuno held his arms tightly and lowered her head, trying to cope with that immense pain.

"Sakuno, what can I do?! Please, tell me!"

"Ocean…" she raised her eyes and they were glistering with tears. "I need to go to the ocean."

"Sakuno, I am sorry, but… it is filled with people outside, you cannot go and…"

The sharp and burning sensation got worse and she screamed, holding him. Ryoma's heart broke and he stood up.

"I will be right back!"

The young human grabbed a big bucket on his way out of the house and ran desperately down the streets until the harbor. He was barefoot and people stopped, looking at his desperation while filling the object with the sea water.

He returned home after a while and entered by the backyard, not wanting to startle his friend's family

Without saying anything, he removed his wife's clothes in a hurry and poured the sea water on her legs, rubbing them. Her tail did not appear, but she seemed more confortable in the minute the water touched her skin.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, worried.

"I am. The pain is not that bad anymore.. she touched his face, trying to undo the frown on his forehead. "Thank you, Ryoma."

He took a deep, relieved breath and sat down.

"I am sorry. You are all sweaty."

"And you are all wet." He showed her a small smile. "We should take a bath, otherwise we will ruin the sheets and the futon."

"You can go, I…" before she could finish her sentence, Ryoma picked her up on his arms and Sakuno looked at him surprised.

"You don't have to do that!"

"It is okay." He showed her a small smile.

##############

They were sitting on the opposite sides of the ofuro, surrounded by warm, scented water. It was bigger than the one they had on his house. Ryoma was massaging Sakuno's legs and she smiled, satisfied. She had unbraid her hair and the little flowers were floating around them.

"Does it feel good?"

"Yes!"

"It almost scared me to death. You probably cannot be outside the water for more than one day. Did that kind of pain happen before?"

"Yes." She said, sadly. "When he took me from the sea. He didn't let me on the water. I screamed and cried for days and he would just… laugh."

"I am sorry a human did those things to you. I am very sorry." He got closer to her and touched her face. "Let's not talk about that anymore. It is in the past. Only good things are going to happen from now on. For you and me."

"Okay." Sakuno smiled and kissed him. Her arms were around his shoulders, bringing him closer. His chest was pressing against her breasts and Sakuno deepened the kiss. Ryoma moaned when her tongue touched his and her embrace got tighter.

"Sakuno…" the golden eyes were blurry with lust. Her legs were around his hips and she could feel his hardness and desire.

It fit. It was hot and tight and it fit. His heart was on his throat being all the way inside his wife. The doctor side of his brain had so many doubts it would ever work. But, the other half, the half that was deeply in love, was lost on that unique sensation. She had bitten his shoulder gently and her fingers entered his black hair when he started to move. Sakuno didn't know what that feeling was, there were no words to describe it. Her whole body was set on fire every time his hips met hers.

Ryoma found his pace, moving with the mermaid's cries. He wanted to love her until erasing from her body all the bad things the other human had inflicted. The young human promised Sakuno would experience only love and pleasure. He wanted to kiss her but he had no neurons left to do anything but trying to breathe and continued to thrust into her. His opened mouth was on her neck and Ryoma's eyes were closed, her sweet voice completely filling his mind.


	18. Chapter 18

Sakuno took a deep breath, happily enjoying the sun on that morning. She was naked, laying on a sheet at the beach, her belly down and eyes closed. Five days had passed quickly since Ryoma and her had returned from Kitakama and everything was well. Together they fixed Ryoma's garden and they would have vegetables soon.

Her husband had bought her five new colorful yukatas and she was more than happy. He also bought new plants and herbs to prepare and stock medicine. Because of the mermaid's needs to be near the sea, they only stayed one more morning, traveling back home after the sunset. On the empty road at night, she was able to dive into the ocean and let her tail out. Ryoma would wait for her, carefully guarding his wife's modesty.

Ryoma was on the front porch of their house, watching her with a small smile on. How someone who lived on the water could enjoy the sun so much was beyond him. Her pale skin had obtained a soft golden color and she was even more beautiful.

He returned his eyes to his reading. While she was trying out the new clothes, there was a small stand near, selling old books and his attention was caught by an antique manuscript with a merman painted on the cover. Ryoma asked to the seller was that about and he said it was more than 50 years old story of a human that fallen in love with a merman. The elderly woman said it was sold to her by someone who said it was a true story, but she was certain it was nothing but delusions of a crazy person.

Ryoma had bought the manuscript and was reading on his private times. The protagonist, Aki, was a 20-year-old woman who lived in a town near the sea and encountered a merman with dark blue eyes and hair. He was trapped on some rocks during a bad storm and she saved him, treating his injury on the next days.

Aki named the merman Toshio and even when his tail was well and he returned to the sea, he would come back to see her frequently on his human form. Then, they fell in love. She lived with her parents but abandoned her family to live with him on a remote island inside of a cave their transformed into a home.

 _"Today we celebrated 5 years together and my love for Toshio continues to grow. I can feel the time pass on my body, even though there is no change on his face. No expression lines, no wrinkles. His skin continues to be perfect and smooth. I wonder how many seasons he had seen with those deep blue eyes of his._

 _He tells me his memories of the snow falling for many times and the winds and rain crashing outside the sea. Before us meeting sometimes he would adventured himself away from the water and walked into a field of flowers. He told me he swam for many years and his family was somewhere beyond our sea. Some years ago I asked him if he regretted to stay in just one place with me, but he said he was waiting for a place to call his own. I am his mate and his home."_

Ryoma felt the weight of those words on his chest and he realized there was still so much he didn't know about Sakuno. Would they be able to grow old by each other's side? Would she even able to do it? He looked at his wife again and she didn't appear any older than his own age. Would she remain young forever and someday time and death would take her away from him?

 _"Every day he whispers sweet words to me and when our bodies meet, I feel the same thrill and happiness of our first's times. I noticed Toshio's desire becomes deeper on full moon nights and I wonder if there is some need merpeople feel on those days. He holds me constantly and we barely stop to eat or sleep. I can always sense a slight desperation on his kisses while I surrender my body to him."_

The young human blushed after reading that paragraph. On that moment he remembered that their honeymoon happened on a full moon night and after they return to the bedroom, his wife demanded him one more time.

When they arrived home, she removed his clothes between passionate kisses and they didn't even reach the futon. As soon as they finished she was about to climb on him again when Ryoma had to stop her and explain that it was not a automatic thing and he needed some time to catch his breath because it was a tiresome activity. Sakuno kindly kissed his cheek and patted his hair, allowing him to sleep the whole night.

On the first three days, nakedness was a natural state for most of the time. Ryoma had lost all sense of time inside that small house when Sakuno demanded his attention and affection. He was relieved she didn't experience any discomfort on her human form while they were making love and the mermaid was proud for quickly discovering the ways to please her beloved husband.

There was a morning that started with his wife kissing his navel, wanting to investigate him better and Ryoma froze completely, terrified with the possibility of his wife, accidently, use her fangs on him. It took him a while to relax, but soon Sakuno's lips, tongue and fingers around him made the human unable to think about anything else.

"When the full moon was done, she was okay with only holding me to sleep." He noted, already worrying about the next making love marathons and the health of his heart. "Well, at least I am young for now." He smiled to himself.

 _"Although I love our live together and I will forever remain by his side, there is something I miss dearly. I keep my feelings a secret from Toshio. I do not wish to make him worry about my desires. But, every month, I wish and pray my womb gets filled with his child and the two of us can create a family. I yearn for a little one with his face and smile, so I can nurse and raise the proof of our union. I keep telling myself I am the one with the inept body, but I cannot stop wondering if it is even possible for us to make a child together. I will continue to hope, even if it becomes nothing but an unfruitful dream."_

He read the paragraph again and his heart raced. What did she mean with that? Ryoma turned the pages and his eyes desperately looked for any mention of them being able to have a child. The golden eyes were wide in shock when reaching the last page.

 _"I can feel the pieces of my heart breaking one by one. I cannot eat or sleep and everything seems like an eternal void. I already lost so much weight and my will to live. 3 months passed by since Toshio went to swim on that winter night and he never returned to me. I tried to find him, but I did not have the strength to defy the cold sea for more than some minutes. I kept calling his name into the frozen nights, into the empty days and loneliness continues to be my only answer. My eyes are heavy and I hope that, if I am able to see another day, my beloved Toshio comes to me and saves me from this darkness."_

Ryoma's hands were trembling and he couldn't believe the words he just read. Aki had died, completely abandoned and alone in the middle of the nowhere, forever waiting the merman.

He took a deep, long breath, trying to calm himself. Maybe the old lady was right and it was just a silly story. He looked at Sakuno and now she was sitting, looking at the ocean, her long red hair moving with the wind. If someone told him months before he would find a mermaid and they would get married, he would laugh at the person's face and call her crazy. But, there he was, completely in love with a mythical creature.

Sakuno poured all her love, care and attention on him, so naturally, like the tides bathed the white sand of their beach. The only thing she ever asked was a child. _"Let's make a baby."_ Her words echoed on his mind and he felt extremely useless.

Even if he also was skeptic about the possibility, on the back of his heart, he was still a little hopeful. For someone who lost his home and family once, being able to find Sakuno and create a family with her would be a second chance of complete happiness.

He entered the house and opened a drawer, putting the manuscript deep inside the objects. There was still some things he wanted to learn from it, but, for the moment, he didn't want to see that anymore and he didn't want Sakuno to find it either.

Ryoma walked towards his wife and hugged her from the back, tightly. Sakuno smiled and held his arms.

"Ryoma, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." He said, making the embrace tighter. "I just missed you."

"I am right here." She giggled.

He continued to hug her, wishing that deep sadness on his heart could be erased inside her warm embrace.


	19. Chapter 19

Ryoma was sitting on the sand. It was almost night and he was waiting for Sakuno to return from the sea. She was there for a while now. A couple of days had passed since he read the manuscript and those words continued to fill his head. His wife's notice his spirit was down, but he would always show her a small smile and assured her everything was fine.

Since then, his chest hurt a little every time she went to the ocean. His eyes followed her figure into the tides and he would wait patiently for her to return. Many times he wanted to ask her about the fears on his mind. Would she still be with him with the possibility of never having a child? Would she leave him someday? On their wedding vows, she used the word forever, but how exactly was that for a mermaid? Ryoma took a deep breath and he hid his face between his crossed arms. He called himself a coward for not addressing the topics with her, but he was just afraid she would, indeed, leave him behind.

His thoughts were interrupted by the familiar sound of a horse running and he raised his head, surprised. His sister was coming with Shuichirou.

He stood up and wondered if was seeing things, frozen on his place. But, when Oishi stopped the animal a few meters from him, Kaori jumped and ran into his direction.

"Ryoma!" she held the layers of her furisode tight on her body, before jumping on her brother's neck. They fell on the sand and Kaori held him tight when he sat down, totally stunned.

"Ka…Kaori."

"Ryoma, it is really you!" she cupped and examined his expression.

"Hello, Ryoma-kun." Shuichirou said, coming close, pulling the horse from its rein. "It's been a while."

"Shuichirou-san." He was so surprised it took him a while to be able to formulate sentences on his brain. "What… what are you doing here?"

"We should have arrived sooner, but our other horse got injured, he had to stop on a city and buy another one." She couldn't stop herself from smiling. "I was so worried about you! There is so much I need to tell you and…."

They attention was called when Sakuno appeared on the beach. Her hair was glued on her naked figure and she stopped, surprised at seeing them.

She recognized Kaori and ran to her, kneeling by her side and holding her hands tightly.

"I never thought I would see you again! Thank you so much for saving me!"

#################

"Here, Kaori." Ryoma offered some tea to his sisterand to Shuichirou before sitting by his wife's side. They were all sitting on the back porch of the house. Sakuno was already dressed in a purple yukata with small white butterflies, her hair tight on a ponytail. It was so strange to her seeing the mermaid dressed like a regular human and talking.

The young Muramasa lady had a deep frown on her face, trying to put the pieces together of what her brother had told her.

"Let me see if I understood correctly. She appeared here injured and then you got married to her?"

"Yes." he replied, seriously. Kaori had told him about the things Ren had done to his wife and his blood was boiling in anger. "So Ren was the one who hurt her so much. And the worst part is that, I am not even surprised by it."

"Ryoma, it is okay." His wife gently touched his hand. "It's in the past."

"I am so sorry, Sakuno." He grabbed her hand and placed on his forehead, his expression taken by pure pain. Kaori watched that and she still couldn't believe her eyes.

"Ryoma-kun, we came here because we need your help." Shuichirou said. "Your brother is doing horrible things to Muramasa. Since you left the state is without doctors, he spent a lot of the public money with futile things and he even threatened Kaori."

"What?" he looked at his sister.

"You need to return home." Kaori picked up their father's document and showed to him. "Chichiue entrusted Muramasa to you."

Ryoma picked up the paper and read it, the golden eyes wide in absolute shock. It took him a while to return it to his sister.

"I do not want this." He said, seriously. "There is no way I will be the state's heir."

"What are you saying? Didn't you read it properly? Chichiue says you are the one that should take over if Ren is incapable of doing so. And he is clearly not fit for the job. You know this."

"I am not fit either. I never had any wishes of such thing. I have a wife and a home to take care of now. I cannot leave Sakuno here to deal with the wrongdoings of Ren."

"Muramasa is your home!" she said, angrily. "You were born there; you are the son of the Muramasa's lord! All your life you Ren called you a bastard, now there is your chance to prove him wrong and help our people!"

"I am sorry, Kaori." He said, gently. "I have no intentions of coming back."

"You are turning your back on Chichiue's wishes to play house in this stupid place with a fish?"

"Kaori!' Shuichirou reprehended her.

"She is my wife." Ryoma had a horrible look on his face.

"She is not even human! She doesn't understand marriage and love! You are fooling yourself!"

"Shut up!" Sakuno's scream made them all surprised. Her head was down and the red bangs were over her eyes, but Ryoma noticed the trembling hands grabbing the cloth of the yukata.

"Sakuno…"

"I am not a fish." she raised her head and looked at Kaori with a dangerous glare. "Even if I am not a human, I know what love is. I married Ryoma on my own free will. We had a ceremony with a priest and we made promises to each other. You cannot come to our home and say those horrible things and scream at my husband. You have no right."

Kaori looked at her brother with a disappointed expression, before turning around and leaving the house.

"I am sorry." Shuichirou said to them, before standing up after his wife.

"Thank you for saying those things." Ryoma touched Sakuno's trembling hands and showed her a small smile. "I am sorry for the way Kaori behaved."

"I don't understand." The scarlet eyes were filled with tears. "Us being together, is it wrong?"

"It is not." He kissed her cheek. "We are doing nothing wrong."

The mermaid hugged her husband tight, her heart filled with sadness.

###########

Dinner time came and Ryoma offered Shuichirou and his sister some food. Kaori was still angrily sitting on the beach and refused to eat.

Her husband sat by her side, with a bowl of rice covered with fish stew. The smell was very good.

"I did not know Ryoma was such a good cook. Food is great." He said gently.

"I am not hungry."

"He moved things around for us to sleep at his home. We should go there soon; it will be very cold in here."

"I am not going. I am staying here until he regains some senses and agrees to help me out."

"Oh, so we are staying?"

"Of course!" she finally looked at her, the pink eyes apprehensive. "He is Muramasa's only hope. I do not understand why is he been so stubborn and selfish."

"You are also behaving like that."

"Are you taking their side?!"

"The things you said were mean, Kaori." The green eyes were serious. "You have no right in disqualifying your brother's marriage. Can you even imagine how hard it was for him to live completely alone on this place until Sakuno-san appeared? You should be happy Ryoma-kun found someone he really treasures. And she seems to care about him very much as well. Her being a mermaid is only a detail that does not bother them."

"He can always return home and take her. There is no need for them to stay here."

"He explained to me. She needs to be near the water at all times, otherwise she suffers. You were the one who saved her; do you really want him to risk taking her back to a place where Ren can get a hold on her again?"

She remained quietly, averting her eyes. Shuichirou held his wife and kissed her cheek.

"I know you are worried, but fighting with Ryoma-kun will not help. You spent so much time missing and worrying about him and now you are wasting the opportunity of staying with your brother again." He smiled gently at her. "Let's go to sleep. Things will be better in the morning."

"I am staying right here."

Suichirou took a deep breath. His wife could be extremely stubborn and proud.

"Okay, then." He stood up and started to collect some pieces of wood near the house.

He made a base for a tent and brought a wide sheet from the bag that was on the saddle of their horse, putting it over.

"Here."

"You do not have to sleep here with me."

"Of course I do. What kind of husband I would be if I let my wife sleep alone on the cold beach?"

Kaori was touched by his words, but before she could say anything her stomach growled loudly and she was extremely embarrassed.

"It seems I am a little hungry."

"It seems." He chuckled, sitting by her side while she started to eat.

###########

"Are you sure they are going to be okay out there?" Sakuno asked, while eating a bowl of rice. "It is going to be cold."

"Shuichirou-san said she will not come inside." He took a deep breath. "You cannot make Kaori do anything."

"I wonder if she liked the food." She finished the rice in seconds and then started to eat another plate of stew. It was the third one.

"Are you okay? You are eating a lot."

"Right?!" she responded between big bites on the fish. It took her a while to chew and swallow. "I am really hungry tonight! And your food tastes even better!"

"Well, at least you are no longer skinny like before." He smiled at her, before he yawned. "I am so tired, I am going to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day with Kaori's deadly glares at me."

"You can go. I will go to bed as soon as I finish. Good night, Ryoma." She said, with a smile, before her husband stood up and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head, before leaving the kitchen.


	20. Chapter 20

Shuichirou smiled when he saw Sakuno looking curiously to his horse. The animal was inside a small fence, drinking water. It was morning and he was going to feed him grass.

"Did you ever see a horse before?" he asked gently and it startled her a little. The mermaid shook her head negatively. "Come, he will not harm you."

Shuichirou put some food on her hands and the horse came, eating gently. Sakuno giggled, happily and she touched his head.

"You are so beautiful." It was a black horse with a white front. She looked at Shuichirou with a smile. "Thank you."

"We were not properly introduced. I am Oishi Shuichirou. Nice to meet you."

"Ryoma told me. You are Kaori-san's husband."

"I am sorry for what my wife said yesterday. It was wrong. I hope you can forgive her."

"Why does she hate me?" her voice was sad.

"She does not hate you, Sakuno-san." He said, kindly.

"So why was she so mad?"

"She has always been very protective of Ryoma and she also feels responsible for Muramasa. She is just… worried."

"You two could live here with us." She smiled. "Ryoma would be happy."

"Unfortunately things are not so simple." The green eyes were gentle. "But, I must admit the idea of living in such a beautiful place is very nice."

##########

Ryoma smiled seeing them talking, before turning around and walking towards his sister's tent. Kaori was there, watching the sea. He came close with small pieces of cake he had bake and sat by her side. She continued to observe the waves, not paying attention to him.

"I just made this with some berries Sakuno collected on the forest near here. Do you want some?"

"Did you change your mind about going back with me?"

"No."

"I do not want your cake, thank you." He took a deep breath and continued to sit by his sister's side.

"After all this time, you are finally here." He said, quietly. "I always thought about you. I always wanted to know if you were okay."

"All this time, you did not even send me a letter, at least to tell me you were alive."

"I am sorry. But I was afraid Ren would intercept the letter and would hurt you." she finally looked at him, the pink eyes filled with tears.

"I looked everywhere for you. I offered a reward for anyone who could tell me anything on your whereabouts."

"Kaori…"

"You are my little brother and I was not able to protect you. I hope you can forgive me someday."

"It was not your fault." He held his sister's hand. "Ren was the one who hurt me."

"I have missed you so much." Her forehead touched his chest. "That place was so lonely without you."

"I have missed you too." He hugged his sister. "And, congratulations on your wedding. Shuichirou-san told me yesterday. I am glad you two got back together."

"I am glad he did not give up on me." She showed a little smile. "Ryoma, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"About the mermaid…"

"Her name is Sakuno." He corrected her.

"About Sakuno-san, are you really sure you want to be married to her?"

"Of course I am." He said, seriously. "I love her, Kaori. I have never been more certain of something in my life. You know me."

"So, are you going to be living here with her, for the rest of your days?"

"Yes." Ryoma showed his sister a small smile, but she knew it was genuine. "I am fine with it. As long as Sakuno is with me."

"You really happy, right?"

"I am. I hope you can understand that. Sakuno is not fit to live in a city. She needs to stay near the ocean all the time, otherwise her legs hurt and it is really painful. She also does not understand some human things very much, she is still learning. When I first found her, she could not even speak."

"I see. I wonder what _Chichiue_ would say if he met her. He was fascinated by mermaids." She rubbed her brother's dark hair. "You really are his son."

"You could stay, Kaori. We could build a house for you and Shuichirou-san. It is a good life here. When winter comes and if you think it is too difficult, there is a city just two days away and…"

"I cannot, Ryoma." She replied, sadly. "I am sorry. I have to find a solution to Muramasa even if you do not help me. I just… cannot go on with my life knowing I abandoned _Chichiue_ 's state."

"But it is not your obligation."

"It is." She took a deep breath. "I will think about something. I just need some time."

"You and Shuichirou-san can stay as long as you want."

"Thank you."

"Kaori?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For helping Sakuno. For making it possible for us to meet."

"I am sorry for the way I talked about your relationship. I will ask her forgiveness later."

"I appreciate it."

###########

Since they made up, Kaori finally agreed to stay at Ryoma's place. He offered their room to them and he and Sakuno moved to the back porch. Since it was spring, the temperature was cool and pleasant. And, both of the newlyweds couple could have some privacy.

It was already late at night when Ryoma woke up and realized he was alone on bed. He found Sakuno by the beach, her feet being washed by the tides and her scarlet eyes were lost somewhere beyond the horizont.

"Is something wrong? Are your legs hurting?" he asked, by her side.

"No." she continued to focus on the ocean. "They are singing."

"They?" he tried to listen something, but he could only hear the soft winds.

"The mermaids. Far away."

"You can listen to them?!"

"But I cannot understand them. Remember when I told you I had found them with little ones once?"

"Yes."

"There were a lot of them on a rock on the sea. They were feeding their babies and singing to them. There is probably a group doing it right now somewhere."

Ryoma watched his wife's expression and it was a mixture of curiosity and longing. He held her hand and she finally looked at him, like waking up from a trance.

"Ryoma?"

"Do you wish to go after them?" the golden eyes were aphrensive. "Do you wish to leave?"

"Not at all." She smiled gently at him. "I just…found it beautiful."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Her hands cupped his face. "The only place I wish to be is here by your side, Ryoma."

His heart was at peace with her sweet words and he hugged her tightly.

Sakuno giggled and hugged him back.

"But… can I try something?"

"What is it?" he looked at her.

"There is a song I carry inside of me, for a long time already."

The mermaid got away from his embrace and entered a little more inside the water.

She took a deep and long breath before starting to sing.

 _"Why do you want to forget?_  
 _Please, try to remember,"_  
 _I wish as as warm tears_  
 _flow down my cheeks_

 _Why, as we tremble,_  
 _do we now seek each other out?_  
 _Because I want to hold you over and over_  
 _in my embrace_

 _The feather that drifts on the waves of_  
 _this blue planet's ocean;_  
 _the sorrow of its fading_  
 _is a prayer to tomorrow_  
 _Blue Flow"_

Ryoma was completely astonished. Her voice was powerful, but very gentle still, reaching him to his core. People used to say the mermaid's singing could easily allure any men and Ryoma understood those legends. It was simply magnificent.

 _"On a night when the moon rises_  
 _Look, the sky of your dreams_  
 _casually beckons you to_  
 _the other side of fate"_

The young human felt incredibly touched by his wife's song and he could feel the golden eyes watering with tears. She moved her hands over her heart and closed her eyes.

 _"While still lost,_  
 _I tried calling out to you, just now_  
 _I want to be sure of the heart_  
 _that only you possess_

 _The times you look at the pale stars_  
 _and think that you're lonely;_  
 _I want to become the kindness_  
 _that takes the pain from those thoughts_  
 _Blue Flow"_

The soft light of the waning moon was over her figure and she continued to be there, with closed eyes and a small smile on her face, listening to the songs of her kin.

Ryoma realized there was a type of solitude on her that, even with all his love, he would never be able to erase completely and things he would never fully understand. But then, Sakuno touched his face and kissed her husband so tenderly that made him even more determinate to give her nothing but extreme happiness to the end of his days.

While they returned to their home, holding each other, they didn't notice Ren's guard watching them from afar. The man turned around and started to ran back to his horse that was hiding some meters away. He needed to tell the Muramasa's lord that his precious mermaid was now in the arms of his brother.

 **Author's note: the song Sakuno is singing is the ending of Haibane Renmei (Blue Flow)**


	21. Chapter 21

It was still on the early hours of the day and the sun was not even completely out yet when Ryoma felt light kisses on his face. His wife was already up and her hand swept across his chest inside his yukata.

"Ryoma, wake up." She whispered on his ear.

"Sakuno, what is wrong?" he asked, extremely sleepy, still with closed eyes.

"I want to make love." Her voice was extremely sweet. Since Ryoma taught those words to her, she loved the way they sound. But, at such circumstances was not romantic at all and her husband was completely awake in seconds.

"What?!" he whispered. "We cannot! Kaori and Shuichirou-san are on the next room!"

"They are still sleeping." Her lips brushed his neck. "Please. I miss you."

Since his sister and brother-in-law arrived they were not engaging in intimate acts like they used to. Ryoma had to admit having sex was extremely addictive and his gorgeous wife was now kissing his chest and making it extremely hard to think straight. And it was not even full moon nights yet!

"I miss you too." She smiled and kissed his mouth, but he had to stop her for a moment so he could explain. "If we are doing this, we cannot take our clothes off entirely and we have to be quiet, okay? And we cannot take long too."

"Okay!" she was plenty satisfied and Ryoma was more than ready. He covered them both with the sheets and kissed her deeply.

It was almost a sacrilege to rush things with her. Sakuno's arms were around his shoulders. His lips touched her slender neck and one of his hands untied the obi of her yukata. He placed himself between her tights and was about to reunite their bodies. When Ryoma touched his wife's breasts, wanting to kiss them, she trembled in pain and covered her chest with her arms.

"What happened?!" he whispered, extremely worried, pulling the sheets from them to see her better. They were now sitting in front of each other.

"It hurts." The discomfort was all over her beautiful face and he felt horrible for hurting her. "When you touched them, it hurt."

"I am so sorry." He was heartbroken. "Maybe it was because of all that time you spent on the beach yesterday. You are going to the sea when the sun is high in the sky, it not good for your skin."

"You think?"

"Yes." He looked at her figure, since the yukata was opened. "And… they are a little bigger, right? Your whole body is curvier." He smiled. "You also have been eating a lot lately."

"Is it ugly?" she was worried.

"Not at all." Ryoma pulled her close and kissed her, being careful with her chest. "You are even more beautiful."

Sakuno giggled and kissed him back, urging him to continue from where they stopped.

Not wanting to hurt her again, they made love laying on their side, with Ryoma holding her from the back while the sun started to appear on the skies. Sakuno bit her lips to avoid moaning and Ryoma suppressed a cry of climax clenching his teeth. It was rushed and crazy and the young human had a silly and satisfied smile on his face when they finished.

"That is a great way to start a day." He whispered, making his wife smile. Now she was laying in front of him and caressed his silky short hair while he went back to sleep, enjoying the last minutes before the proper wake up time.

#############

The rest of the day was pretty regular and night came quickly. Ryoma prepared some soup with the clams Sakuno had caught earlier with his net. Kaori and Shuichirou were already having dinner when he went after his wife. She was supposed to be back from the bath some time ago. He found Sakuno sitting on the back porch with her eyes closed in discomfort, holding a wood pillar.

"Sakuno! What' wrong?!"

"My head is spinning." She answered with a weak voice. "And my legs are weak."

"Your skin is cold!" He said, touching her. "Do you need to go to the water again?"

"It…it is not that."

"Wait here!" he entered the house like a lightning bolt, surprising his sister and his brother in law, going straight to the medicine shelves.

"Ryoma, what happened?!"

"Sakuno is not feeling well!" he said, pushing things around, looking for some specific herbs.

"What is wrong with her?" Shuichirou asked, concerned.

"I don't know!" he finally found the medicine he was looking and rushed back to her, together with them.

"Sakuno, look at me. Did you eat something strange at the sea? Did you step on something?"

"No." Ryoma touched her face and examinated her eyes. The scarlet eyes were heavy.

"Kaori, bring me all the sheets you can find."

"Yes!"

"I will start the fireplace."

"Thank you, Shuichirou-san."

The young human wrapped his wife inside the sheets and put her on his arms, taking her to the living room.

He sat with her on his lap.

"You are going to be okay, Sakuno."

"Ryoma…what's wrong with me?"

"Why is she cold, Ryoma? Is there anything else we can do to help?"

"I do not know!" he was terribly nervous. "I never dealt with such a thing! She is never cold. Even when she was in the sea during winter."

"Sakuno-san, are you hungry? Do you want to try to eat something? You had nothing to eat after lunch, maybe…"

"Good idea." Kaori stood up and filled a small bowl with the clam soup. "Here"

Before Sakuno could even taste it, the smell of it entered on her nostrils and she felt a revolting sensation on her stomach. She pushed Ryoma away and vomited on the floor. It took her a while to stop and her red bangs were covered in cold sweat.

"Sakuno-san!" her sister-in-law helped her to clean her mouth with a small cloth and brought some water on a cup for her. "Here, drink it slowly."

"What should I do?" Ryoma was desperate. He had never seen her so sick.

After finishing drinking the water, Sakuno stood up in silence. There was something different on her expression and it surprises them.

"I need to hunt." She said, without any emotion on her voice.

"What do you mean, Sakuno-san?" Shuichirou asked.

"I need to hunt." The mermaid repeated herself, before walking towards the door and opening. She started to run towards the water and Ryoma was after her.

"Sakuno, wait! Wait a minute!" Sakuno was standing already naked near the waves. "What…what is happening?!"

"I need to go." She looked at her husband and her eyes were completely white and she was expressionless. She entered the sea and disappeared inside the waves.

"Ryoma, what is going on?!" Kaori asked, finally arriving to her brother's side. He looked extremely confused.

"I…I don't know."

"Is hunting normal for her?" Shuichirou asked, trying to see Sakuno on the ocean.

"No! Since she is here with me, she only eats the food I cook, she loves it. She is eating more lately, saying the food tastes better and she even gained a little weight. And now she is nauseated and vomiting, I…"

"Ryoma…" his sister looked at him, seriously. "Is there any chance your wife is pregnant?"

"Eh?!" the blood completely vanished from his brain with Kaori's question.

"That would make sense." Shuichirou agreed. "How long are you two together?"

"No, there is no way! It is impossible!"

"Why? Aren't you married?"

"We are not married that long! And we did not do anything that could result on a pregnancy before!" his face was extremely red having to say those things out loud to his sister and his brother-in-law. "There must be another logical explanation." he sat on the sand, placing his hands on his face, trying to find some answers.

Kaori kneeled in front of her brother and cupped his face, forcing him to look at her.

"Ryoma, calm down and listen to me. You are a doctor, you know the symptoms. And you married a mermaid; nothing here has a logical explanation. Can you be absolute sure she is not pregnant?"

"I… I cannot." The golden eyes were wide in panic. "But… it is not supposed to happen. For me and her, to have a baby, is impossible!"

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of a loud thing reaching the sand. When they looked, Sakuno was there, with her face and arms completely covered by blood. On her feet there were the remains of a seal, just the last half of its body. Her eyes had returned to normal and she looked at her husband with a heartbroken expression.

"What do you mean, Ryoma? We can't have a baby?"


	22. Chapter 22

Shuichirou kissed his wife. It was night and they were inside the hot spring near Ryoma's house. He noticed she was not reaction to his deep kisses like she used to, even though they finally had some private time.

"Kaori, what is wrong? You are not here." He asked, concerned, caressing her cheek gently.

"I am sorry." She averted her eyes. "It is just… Ryoma is going to be a father. He really is going to have a child."

One day had passed since Sakuno's hunt. She was sad and confused with Ryoma's words. He was so nervous, he tried to explain himself but was not able to and his wife was just getting sadder. Kaori stopped their conversation and asked her brother to examinated the mermaid so they could confirm things.

They went inside the house for some privacy and Ryoma went out after a few moments, pale as a ghost. Sakuno was indeed pregnant and, comparing to a human female, she was 2 months along.

The mermaid took her husband's reaction like he was unhappy and she cried. Sakuno was not talking to him since then and the atmosphere on the house was heavy.

"Are you not happy?" he said, gently. "You are going to have a nephew or a niece."

"How are they managing this?!" She looked at her husband. "Is it even possible for this child to be born? She is already so sick. And, what about the hunting thing, she ate half of a seal! Is Sakuno-san going to risk herself every time she needs to eat?"

"You are worried about her." He pointed out with a smile.

"Of course I am. She was crying so much, she is probably very afraid. I wish I could do something to help her." The pink eyes were sad.

"Just continue to support her like you are doing." He hugged his wife. "I am sure everything will be okay. Ryoma-kun would never let anything happen to her."

"Shuichirou?" she asked, inside the embrace.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to have children?"

"Of course I do." He looked at her and smiled. It was the first time they had that conversation. "Three would be nice."

"Three?!"

"Yes! Two boys and a girl! So the girl could be like you."

"How long have you been thinking about this?!"

"I started to date you with the hopes of making you my wife and having a family, Kaori. The green eyes were so loving. "I was always certain you were the one. When you broke up with me, I was so lost." He showed her a sad smile. "How could I go on with my life without the person I wanted to share everything?"

Her hands cupped his face and she investigated his expression.

"Every day I wake up so happy, still not believing we are really together again."

"I am sorry." Her thumb caressed his handsome face. "I had no idea."

"That is okay. I know solving Muramasa's situation is your priority for now and will probably take a while for us to start a family, but I want you to know that I am ready for that." he placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I want to see these beautiful eyes in a child we made together."

Her heart was heavy and full of love from Shuichirou's word and Kaori felt blessed. She kissed him again, this time deeper and seriously and her shorter naked frame was pressed on his lean body.

########

Ryoma took a deep breath, watching Sakuno laid on the futon. Kaori and Shuichirou changed places with them, so she could be more comfortable inside the house. She was so quiet and the absence of her voice and smiles hurt him very much.

He still could remember how happy she was when he explained she was expecting a baby, but soon her smile died when seeing his troubled face. She started to cry and he tried to hug her, but she distanced herself from him. Kaori was the one who comforted her and he felt small and useless.

The young human noticed when she put her hand over her mouth, like being nauseated again and came close to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, gently.

"I am fine." Her voice was dry and serious.

"Are you hungry again?" she was finally able to eat some human food. Shuichirou had a theory that her hunting a seal was a pregnancy craving. "Or do you need to hunt again?"

"Leave me alone!" she sat down and looked at him with a deep frown on her forehead. Her back was against the wall and Ryoma noticed she was in the same position of discomfort from when she first arrived on his place, hurt and not even knowing how to communicate properly.

Sakuno averted her eyes and her voice was heavy with sorrow.

"As soon as I'm feeling better, I will leave. I will go back to the ocean and you don't have to worry about me again."

"What are you talking about?! You are not going anywhere!"

"I know you don't want this baby!" a big, round tear rolled down her face.

"Is that what you think?" he felt horrible for making her cry again.

"You said having a child with me was impossible! And you look nervous all the time, like you made a big mistake! You were not even happy!"

"You are wrong. I really think it was not possible for us to have a child. You are mermaid and I am a human. Of course I look nervous, I am terrified. I am a doctor and I don't know what to expect, I don't know how to help my own wife and my child!"

He was on the edge of crying too.

"Even if it was a remote chance, I really wanted to have a family with you, but now… I do not know what to do." Her husband lowered his face and she noticed his shoulders trembling. "I do not know what you need or what is going to happen. Are you going to be able to make it to full term? Are you even going to be able to eat properly tomorrow? And what about the birth, how is that going to happen?" he placed his head between his hands. There was so many things he had worried about on that small period of time and there were many more to come yet.

His wife came close and gently touched his chin, making him look at her. Sakuno spread soft kisses on his cheeks before kissing his mouth slowly. The scarlet eyes looked deeply inside the golden ones.

"Ryoma, you're going to be a father." A new tear ran down her cheek, but she smiled at him. "We love each other and we made a baby."

"Sakuno…"

"I'm afraid too, I worry too, but, I am happy. I am so happy, Ryoma. Not long ago, I was completely alone swimming in the vast blue." She leaned her forehead on his chest. "I am not alone anymore. Thank you, Ryoma."

Her words finally made his heart calm down. He hugged his wife tightly and Sakuno smiled, hugging him back.

"I am going to be a father." He said, gently, kissing her neck. "We are going to be parents, Sakuno."

She looked at him and grinned happily.

"Yes!"

"I am happy, Sakuno." He touched her face. "I am very happy, beyond words. Do not think otherwise."

"Really?"

"Yes." Ryoma kissed her. "Let's do our best so this baby can grow up properly and you can be healthy too."

"Okay." She leaned on his chest, holding his torso.

"I will take care of you two."

#########

"Oh, it is bigger!" Kaori said, amazed, when her brother was measuring his wife's belly. She was standing up and he had a small measuring tape around her. Shuichirou was outside, tending the vegetable garden. Another week passed by and she was already with a little bump.

"Isn't my wife amazing?" Ryoma said, taking notes in a small notebook. He had made a diary of her pregnancy, writing down all the big and small milestones.

"Is growing up properly, right?" Sakuno smiled, sitting down.

"Yes. And you are able to eat properly most of the time too, which is also a good sign."

"Her body is adapting to the baby." Kaori smiled. "But, it also makes sense it is growing up quickly like that. It must be hard for a mermaid staying with a big belly for 9 months on the sea."

"Ah, that is right!" Sakuno caressed her belly. "I wonder when it will start to move, like Ryoma said."

"Sakuno, be careful when you go to the sea tonight, okay? Do not dive very deep. Even for humans, those first weeks require care."

"Okay!"


	23. Chapter 23

Sakuno took her yukata off and gave it to Ryoma. It was time for her night swim. He had a small lantern with him.

"I'm off!"

"Be careful. And do not take long."

"I will be fine." His hand touched the discreet roundness on her belly and he kissed it.

"Take care of your mother while you two are out there, okay? I will be here waiting."

Sakuno smiled at him and kissed her husband, before entering the water. Soon Ryoma could not see her anymore and he sat down, waiting for his wife to return. He had brought the manuscript and started to read it, trying to find any information about mermaid pregnancy or children.

After a while Kaori appeared by his side, bringing him a cup of tea.

"Here." She offered it, with a small smile.

"Thank you."

"You are already behaving like a doting parent."

"I will be more at ease when her belly becomes bigger."

"What is this?" she pointed at the manuscript.

"It is something I bought a while ago. Tells the story of a woman that fell in love with a merman. It is suppose to be a true thing."

"What?!" she picked up and started to read quickly. "Do you think it could be real for sure?"

"I don't know. But it seems like a real journal. And all the pages there are different days and months, even if the years are not specified."

"Amazing." She returned to him. "Did you take some information from here, about Sakuno-san?"

"I did. Aki, the woman, was never able to conceive a child with the merman and they were together for many years. It is a sad love story, actually. He disappeared one day and she died alone on a cave." She noticed the preoccupation on her brother's face.

"Is that the reason you are always here, waiting for her, every time she goes to the sea?"

"I do not know what I would do if she just did not come back home. I would probably die on the sea looking for her."

"Mariko-san told me that many years ago, merpeople were hunt for their meat and the scales of their tails. Many clans disappeared because of that. Maybe that happened with this poor merman on the story." She touched his hand. "Stop worrying about such things. Sakuno-san is safe here with you. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"Thank you, Kaori."

##############

Sakuno was being carried by the gentle waves. She was laying on her back, looking at the starry sky, her tail moving slowly one side to the other. Her hands caressed her belly and she smiled.

"Hello, little one. Can you hear me? I'm your mother. Right now, your father says you are really tiny and maybe you can't understand me yet, but, I want you to memorize my voice."

A bigger wave made her go a little higher on the floating.

"Do not be afraid. We are at the sea. You will be coming here a lot with me for a while. And then, after you are born. Or, at least, if you are like me. But, if you are like your father, he can show you how to swim. Your father is very intelligent and he already takes very good care of you."

Her heart was warmed with the memories of Ryoma holding her belly every night when they were going to sleep and his concern towards her and their child.

"Your father is wonderful. He is also very handsome and he smells so good. His body is very warm and it feels good to sleep next to him. His food is the best!"

Her hand stopped over her bellybutton and she closed her eyes.

"You are already very special and we love you very much. Please, grow up properly and be born safely, so we can love you even more."

She continued to float on the tides while humming a gentle lullaby to her unborn child.

################

"Is Ryoma-kun still outside?" Shuichirou asked. It was late already and he was already laying down. They were still sleeping on the back porch.

"Yes, he is waiting for Sakuno-san. She forgets about time when she is at the sea." She sat down on the futon. "Shuichirou, since Sakuno-san is fine, I think it is time for us to come back to Muramasa."

"I know." He smiled gently. I was expecting you to say it sooner or later. "We can go in the morning, after breakfast."

"Thank you. I will talk to the people and search for a way to stop Ren. Maybe there is a way for us to…"

"Well, well, well." The familiar voice echoed on the back garden and interrupted their conversation. "Look what I found here."

Ren appeared from inside the shadows with a smile on his face. He had five men with him.

"Ren…" Kaori's blood froze inside her veins.

"Hello, Nee-sama. Long time no see." He looked at Shuichirou. "Hello to you too, brother-in-law."

"What do you want?" he asked, angrily, moving his body in front of his wife to protect her.

"I want to take back what you stolen from me. I know the mermaid is here. You took her and brought her here to Ryoma, right?"

"What you saying?! There is no way, I…" her words stopped when Ren pointed his katana to Shuichirou's head, cutting his forehead.

"Don't lie to me! I know she is here! Otherwise I will start removing your precious husband a few body parts.

#########

Ryoma had dooze off while sitting. How long was he there anyway? He opened his eyes and Ren was in front of him, with a smile.

"Hello, little brother." Before he could even think straight, his older brother pushed him down and choked him with both hands.

"Ryoma!" Kaori screamed, a few meters away. Shuichirou and her were tied with ropes, being held by Ren's guards.

"Ka…Ka…" he tried to say her name, but the grasp around his neck was very strong. He looked at the pink eyes and they were burning in rage.

"Why did you have to be born, just to take everything that is mine?! First my father, then Kaori and you even got my mermaid! Where is she?!"

"She… she left." He whispered, between hard breathes.

"Do not lie to me!" the Muramasa's lord screamed on his face. Ryoma grabbed his brother's wrists, trying to push him, but it was useless. Ren was older, taller and stronger and he continued to press on his neck.

"Ren, stop, you are going to kill him!" Kaori cried, trying to run to Ryoma, but both of her arms were tied.

Ryoma felt the air leaving his lungs completely and was starting to get dizzy when the tides started to move angrily at the beach, in circles, surprising everyone.

Sakuno jumped from inside the waves and landed in front of them. Her eyes were completely white and her fangs were showing. The electric fields were larger and wider around her body and she had a terrifying expression.

"Get your hands off my husband."


	24. Chapter 24

Sakuno felt a horrible sensation spread all over her body when she opened her eyes. She sat down slowly and realized she was tied to the wall by double chains. The mermaid looked at that and felt an immense rage coming from inside.

"Sakuno!" Ryoma's voice called her attention. He was on the other side of the wall. They were inside the Muramasa's castle basement. There were a few lanterns on.

"Ryoma!" she tried to stand up, but she felt a sharp pain on her shoulder. She noticed that the yukata she was wearing had a big blood stain on it.

"Sakuno, you are injured, do not move so much!"

"What happened? Why are we here? Where is Kaori-san and Shuichirou-san?"

"Don't you remember? You attacked Ren, but you felt dizzy and he used this to hurt you with his sword. You lost a lot of blood and you fainted after."

Sakuno tried to break the chains, using all her strength. She screamed and all her muscles were tight and tense. The blood started to run again from her shoulder and she kneeled down.

"Sakuno, stop! Do not do that to yourself!"

His wife banged the stone floor, angrily and he could see the big tears failing from her face.

"Why is this happen again? Why couldn't I protect you?"

"Sakuno…"

"I'm sorry, Ryoma. I'm so sorry!"

"Do not apologize! You are probably weak because of your pregnancy."

She felt terribly sick and vomited. Her whole body was trembling in pain.

"Sakuno! You have to lay down!" He walked towards her, he had a chain on his ankle. Ren was cruel enough to not let them touch each other. Their chains was just a palm shorter to let them be together. All Ryoma wanted was to hug his wife.

The heavy door opened and the sound of steps made her raise her head. Ren was on the room, smiling at her.

"Oh, my dear, you are finally awake."

Sakuno charged on his direction, but the chains stopped her. Her fangs were out and she growled at him.

"You!"

"Calm down, otherwise you are going to hurt yourself more." He said, pointing the blood coming from her arm.

"Ren, where is Kaori and Shuichirou-san? What did you do to them?!"

"They are safe. I would never hurt my beloved sister." He grabbed Ryoma's hair. "I cannot say the same about you, little brother."

"Let him go!"

"Tell me what you did, Ryoma." He whispered on his face while looking at Sakuno. "How did you manage to make this extraordinary creature the wife of your sorry self?"

"What do you want with us?!"

"I want nothing with him." He released Ryoma and smiled at her. "I just want you."

"Why?" she was distrustful.

"I was amazed by your strength. Imagine of what I could do with you by my side. It is like having a white shark as a bodyguard."

"Ryoma, what does he mean?"

"He wants to use your powers." He said, with clenched teeth.

"Everyone would fear me and I could even get some more territories to Muramasa."

"I won't help you!"

"You can say that now. You know I am patient and the lack of food and water made you pretty docile."

"Until I bit off your ear." She smiled.

"Are you ready to be away from the water again? It hurts you, right? You almost died here the last time. And, I have no problems on making your dear husband to accompany on your stubbornness. No food, no water. It all depends on you. In the moment you agree with me and promise you will not hurt me, I will release Ryoma and I will provide sea water for you. And everyone will be happy."

"She is never going to be by your side." Ryoma's voice was dead serious. "You can kill me and Sakuno will not serve you."

Sakuno looked at her husband with deep concern on the scarlet eyes.

"Well, I will leave you to better discuss the matter. He can be terribly stubborn, this one. Good bye, my dear." He smiled, before leaving the room.

Sakuno tried to hold Ryoma's hand and he tried the same. They were just a palm away from each other.

"You cannot die." She looked at him sadly. "I won't let you die!"

"We will find a way. Our child is not going to be born here. I promise you."

The mermaid fell asleep leaning on the cold wall, trying to avoid her injured shoulder. She had instinctively put her arms around her stomach, trying to protect the little life inside of her.

On the other side of the room Ryoma continued to be up, fighting his despair and exhaustion, watching over his wife's sleep.

################

"What are we going to call him if it's a boy?" Ryoma asked, softly, his body leaning on the wall. They were talking about their child.

Five days had passed by so slowly it seemed like a hundred years. Ren had follow his promise and they remained there, with no food or water.

Trying to maintain some sanity, they started to talk about small things and making plans for the future.

The young human was incredibly weak. Sakuno was not in the best shape either. She was sending all her energy to her child, while dealing with the immense pain of being away from the water for so long. It was like the bones of her legs were totally crushed and it hurt even to breathe.

"It is a girl." She said with a small smile towards him. The golden eyes finally had some life on them.

"How…how do you know?"

"I just…do." her voice was so gentle. She moved her dirty yukata a little and showed him her belly was already a little bigger from where he measure from last time.

"It is growing."

"Yes." Sakuno cried a small tear and it broke Ryoma's heart. "Can you hear, little girl? That one over there is your father. He loves you very much."

"Sakuno…"

"We wanted you so much. I want you to know you were made in a happy moment." She held her belly tight and sobbed, more tears coming from the scarlet eyes. "I'm sorry. You are probably hungry, right? I can't offer you good food like before. I'm so sorry."

Ryoma didn't even realize he had started to cry too. He wanted to be strong to his wife and child, but he had to admit he was completely hopeless.

Sakuno words stopped and she looked at him with a surprised expression.

"She moved." She smiled in the middle of her cry. "She moved! Our child moved, Ryoma!"

It took him all his remaining strength to drag himself to her direction. Ryoma stretched his hand out, trying to touch his wife's belly, desperately trying to feel that first important milestone of their baby. He tried until his ankle was injured and bleeding, but he was still not able to touch her.

He cursed Ren inside his mind one thousand times for the pain he was inflicting on them. His eyes were so heavy and he couldn't be awake anymore, even with Sakuno's voice calling him out.

##################

"Ryoma! Please, wake up, Ryoma!" Kaori called him, while pouring some water on his mouth. He was on his sister's arms.

"Kaori?" it took him a while to be able to see properly again. He looked for Sakuno and she was standing, the guards had released her chains from the walls and they were taking her somewhere.

"Sakuno!" he tried to go after her, but he was too weak and fell on his knees. His wife turned around and rushed to his side, even with four men holding her and a new chain around her neck. The mermaid touched his face with both hands and smiled.

"Ryoma!"

"Where are going?! Where are they taking you?!"

"When you passed out, I called Ren. I… accepted his conditions."

"What?! You can't! Kaori, do something!" he looked at his sister but she just lowered her face sadly.

"If I didn't do this you would die." Her thumb brushed his cheek. "I cannot let you die."

"He is going to hurt you! He is going to hurt our child, you cannot trust him!"

The guards tried to push her away by the chains, but Sakuno looked at them and growled loudly.

"Leave her be for a moment." Kaori stood up. "She is keeping her promise. Just, let them talk to each other for a while."

"Ryoma…" she gave him a soft kiss. "I told Ren and made him promise he would not hurt our baby. When she is born, Kaori will take her to you. You will raise her, okay? I know you will raise her properly and love her very much."

"Sakuno, no!" her hands held his face and made him look straight at her. "Please, do not do this!"

"As long as I am alive, I will try to find a way to come back to you." She whispered in a loving tone. "And then, we will be happy again. You made me nothing but happy, Ryoma. Thank you."

It was the last thing she said before standing up and leave, without looking at him for a second time. Kaori could only hug her brother tightly and rub his back, trying to comfort him, while his whole body trembled from deep anger and frustration.


	25. Chapter 25

Sakuno entered the bath room of Muramasa's castle and was surprised by it. It was such a big place, with a wide bath filled with warm water coming from three different waterfalls. She arrived there after taking a swim on the tank with sea water and then, Ren gave her permission to use the room after she ate.

The mermaid took her clothes off and sat on a shallow part of the bath, her legs and hips inside the water. There were some soap near and she felt a little painful when finally able to clean her wound properly.

She rubbed the soap on her entire body, enjoying the clean sensation after so long. Ryoma would always help her bath after she returned from the sea. Her husband washed her hair and sponged her body gently and then, he would dry her and brush her long hair.

Sakuno remembered his smile and her heart hurt. She picked up a small bucket and filled it with warm water before pouring it over herself. She sat down on few steps deeper and leaned on the edge of the bathtub, taking a deep, tired breath. Her baby kicked again and Sakuno smiled, caressing her belly.

"I hope your father is well. I wanted to see him so much."

The door opened and closed and Sakuno turned around. Ren was there, using just a small towel around his hips. He was a little surprised to see her there.

"Oh, you are still in here." He smiled and entered the bathtub, sitting on the other side. His purple hair was tight on a bun. His body was lean, with well defined muscles. His chest and shoulders were wide and strong.

"What do you want?" Sakuno put her arms in front of her chest, looking at him with a displeased expression.

"Calm down." He closed his eyes. "I just want to relax."

"You still didn't tell me how Ryoma is."

"He is fine. Kaori is probably pampering him right now."

"Why do you hate him so much?"

"I do not hate him." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I hate what he represents."

"What do you mean?"

"I killed my mother." Ren looked at the ceiling. "Everything was fine when Kaori was born. My mother was able to hold her child, kiss her and all that sentimental stuff. And then, I was born and she bled out." He put an arm in front of his face and smiled. "I spent my entire life hearing people say how special my mother was and that what happened to her was a tragedy. I was the tragedy. So, my father could never care about me me the way he care about Kaori. Even though she was not able to be the heir of Muramasa, she was always his perfect little girl. I was the child who took away the woman he loved."

Sakuno noticed the aura of anger surrounding him when he continued to talk.

"Do you know how your husband was born? My father fucked a whore on the docks. Then, he brought that bastard home, without any respect towards my mother's memory. He looked at him like he was never able to look at me."

Even if Sakuno didn't comprehend all the words Ren used, she was able to understand Ryoma was not the result of love and marriage.

"Tell me something." Ren came close, looking at the bump on her belly. "Your child, is it going to be a mermaid like you or a human?"

"I don't know. It doesn't matter."

"It should matter. Don't you think it will be difficult for such a child to fit in? What kind of life he or she will have? Is she going to be able to make friends with humans, to live among humans?"

"Shut up. It doesn't concern you."

He smiled, getting even closer.

"It is a waste for you to be married to him." His finger's touched Sakuno's back bone slowly. "I could do a lot of good things to you, to make you forget about Ryoma completely."

The mermaid turned around and grabbed him by his neck, feeling extremely disgusted by his touch.

"You asked my strength and I am going to lend it to you." Her fingers were deeper inside his skin, making him desperate for air. "But Ryoma is my husband and I love him. He is the only one for me and I am his completely."

She released Ren and the Muramasa's lord coughed trying to recover the air on his lungs.

He watched when the mermaid left the bath, the red hair glued to her naked frame. She looked at him with the corner of the scarlet eyes and one of her fangs was showing.

"If you ever touch me again, I am going to rip your arms apart."

#####################

"Ryoma?" Kaori entered his room on Lady Mariko's home. She looked at the untouched dinner on the table. Her brother was sitting on the outside porch, looking at the sky. He wondered if Sakuno was seeing the same stars as him. His sister sat by his side, worried.

"Ryoma, you need to eat. You need to regain your strength."

"I need to see Sakuno. I need to know if she and our child are well." He looked at her seriously. "How could you leave her there with him?"

"What did you want me to do? To let you die? What good would that bring, to you and Sakuno-san? Ren is keeping his word, he needs her and he will not harm her."

"Do you really believe him?! After everything he had done!"

"I made a promise to Sakuno-san, that I would keep you safe! Do you really think I am happy with all this? It is like an absolute nightmare!"

"What are we going to do, Kaori?" he asked, sadly. "Is there anything we can do?"

"I will hold a secret meeting with some people from Muramasa tomorrow night. I will tell them what is going on and I am sure they will support us. For the meanwhile, I need you to eat and rest properly." She touched his face and showed him a small smile, looking deep inside the golden eyes. "You need to go back on your feet so you can hold Sakuno-san when she returns home."

"How's Shuichirou-san's wound? Is he feeling better?"

"His fever started to subside." She kissed her brother's forehead before standing up. "It is late. Please, try to eat and sleep. I will see you in the morning."

"Good night."

############

"How is he?" Shuichirou asked when Kaori entered their chambers. He was sitting on the bed. There were bandages all over his torso.

"He is worried. But, I think I manage to make him calm down a little and finally eat something."

"That is good."

"It is time for me to change your dressings." She said, gently.

Shuichirou turned around to his wife and her hands softly removed the bandages. There were deep cuts all over his back. Ren had lashed him to punish his sister. Since he received no medical care, the cuts were still swollen and tender. His wife picked up some medicine and started to clean them, making him clench his theeth to endure the pain.

"I am sorry."

"That is okay." He said, closing his eyes. He remembered how much Kaori had screamed and begged while Ren continued to hurt him until he was satisfied. Oishi tried to deal with that pain for the sake of his wife. He got a high fever due to his wounds and he would definitely die if they didn't leave the castle. "Kaori?"

"Yes?" her voice was almost a whisper.

"Are you crying?" he smiled, not looking at her.

"You were hurt because of me." Her words trembled and he turned around, looking at her. His hand touched her face and caressed her wet cheeks.

"It was not your fault, Kaori. Do not feel guilty."

"But!"

"If I was not there he would do it with you." The green eyes were serious. "I rather bleed than let him hurt you."

"Shuichirou…"

"Thank you for taking care of me." He held her hand and kissed it, gently. "I will be fine soon. I am sorry I cannot accompany you tomorrow on your meeting."

"You should stay here and rest." She touched his forehead with hers. "You are still a little feverish."

"Okay." Oishi waited until his wife finished to apply the medication on the cuts and bandaged them again. He laid on his chest, by her side, looking at her.

"Shuichirou?"

"Yes?" he smiled.

"When everything is well again, let's have a child." The pink eyes were so gentle.

"Really?"

"Yes. Our first one." She came closer and kissed his mouth slowly. "I will give you all the children you want."

"Oh." He turned around to his side, being carefully with his wounds and pulled her even closer from her clothes. "Are you trying to seduce me with such words, Kaori?"

"Of…course not!" she blushed entirely and he found it adorable. He loved to tease her. "Your wounds, we cann…"

He made her stop talking with a deep, serious kiss.

"I love you." She said, quietly, caressing his face. "I love you so much, Shuichirou."

His heart was tight. It was the first time she said those words to him. He was completely sure of her feelings since they first started to date. Even if his wife was not a person of words, but acts, it was always nice to hear such things, especially after everything they went through. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes, enjoying the sweet smell of her skin.

"I love you too."


	26. Chapter 26

A week had passed slowly and Ren continued to keep Sakuno inside the castle. He had put her on a big and luxurious chamber and gave her a lot of new and expensive clothes. But, the only thing she cared about was the child growing inside of her and if Ryoma was okay. Every night before going to sleep, she would look to the skies and remember the happy times of their home at the beach.

Even though Ren arrange for her to take a bath on sea water, she missed the ocean. She missed the feeling of the waves on her body and on her scales, the smell of freshness and salt and the sounds inside the tides. Above all else, since she met her husband, going to the see meant he would always be there when she returned, with his small smiles and holding her tight while they returned to the small and old house that become their home.

The food in the Muramasa castle was very refined, but Sakuno could not eat it with the same pleasure she ate Ryoma's simple food. It was a good thing she was not feeling so nauseated anymore, the mermaid was sure she wouldn't be able to hold the meals on her stomach otherwise.

The baby kicked again and she smiled. Her hands were around the small roundness.

"You know, little girl, your father, he changed my life completely. Even before we fell in love, he showed me so many things; he made me feel like I finally had a place to return."

She lowered her head.

"I know Ryoma is going to take very good care of you, but… I wish you could stay here inside of me forever, so I could have a part of your father with me. I miss him so much. It hurts the same way when I am away from the water. My whole body is aching."

Her conversation with her child was interrupted when a young servant opened the doors of her chambers slowly. Sakuno turned around to look at her.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Sakuno-sama, but Muramasa-sama asked me to get you ready."

"Why?"

"He said it is time for you to work."

############

There was a summer festival happening on Muramasa's harbor on that evening. The place was full and there were people dancing and eating around a big bonfire. The mermaid was very beautiful. Her long red hair was tight on a high ponytail and she was wearing a white furoside with blue flowers.

She was walking by Ren's side and he had a smirk on his face. While he walked, people were opening the space and whispering. There were no guards with him; since he was sure Sakuno's strength was more than enough.

The Muramasa lord arrived at the center of the party and the music died. Sakuno noticed everyone looked uncomfortable when looking at Ren.

"Good evening to you all." He said, with opened eyes in a very gallant pose. "It is so nice to see you were expecting me with such lovely music." He was being sarcastic. "I hope you remember that, by the end of the month that will be a raise on the tributes of this summer's crops and do not waist a lot of money on this party."

"We didn't agree on that." a tall middle-aged woman said. "And we are no longer under your control."

"We are celebrating a new lord!" an elderly man was in front of him seriously.

Ren laughed at them.

"Is there something on your drinks? Are you delusional by any chance?!"

"They are not, Ren." Kaori appeared from inside the crowd and there was a deep frown on her features.

"What are you doing here, Kaori?" his smiled died.

"Muramasa people accepted a new lord. That was appointed by our father."

"Is that you, by any chance?! You cannot be, you are a useless woman and the law…"

"I am." Ren turned around when hearing the familiar voice. Ryoma was in front of him, looking at his older brother with a deep diplseare look.

Sakuno's heart skipped a beat on seeing her husband after so much time. She wanted to run to him and hug him tight but she had have Ren her word.

"If my older son, Ren, cannot fulfill his ditues to Muramasa and its people properly, is it my wish that my youngest son, Ryoma, will be the new lord of the state." She read the official paper out loud and Ren's face was disfigured by hate.

"You bitch! You are lying! You and that bastard are lying to make the people go against me!"

"We are not." Kaori turned the page and showed him their father's signature and Muramasa's official seal.

"There is no need for that, Ren. You have been a monster to this land. People are suffering because of you. You tried to kill me, you threatened Kaori, hurt Shuichirou-san and now you are slaving my wife!" he pointed to Sakuno. "She is pregnant and you let her without food and water for days, you almost killed our child!"

"Give up, Ren." Kaori came close to him. "There is no need for us to fight over this. It is settled already. Go away with the rest of dignity you still have."

"Okay, _Nee-sama_." He smiled at her. "I will go away. I hope you are happy for betraying your own twin."

"You gave me no choice."

He turned around and was about to leave when, picking up a small dagger inside his clothes, he attacked Ryoma.

"Die, your bastard!"

"Ryoma!" Kaori screamed and the sound of the blade being broken reached their ears.

Ryoma was thrown on the ground and when he opened his eyes Sakuno was in front of him. Many scales had appeared on her right arm, that she used as a shield to protect her husband. The scales were red like the ones on her tail, but strong like steal. His wife's eyes had turned into white and her fangs were showing.

"You liar!" she growled to Ren and he took a few steps back, terrified.

"You cannot go against me! You promised you would serve me!" he screamed, when she took some steps towards his direction.

"Silence!" her deep voice shook his spine. "My duty was to serve you so Ryoma would be safe! And you just tried to kill him!"

The Muramasa lord stood up and started to ran away from her, going towards the sea. Sakuno followed him in regular steps and a blank expression. When Ren was just a few meters away from the tides, the mermaid moved her hands and he was surrounded by a circle of sea water, letting just his head out.

Sakuno closed her hand and the water tightened around Ren's body, making him scream.

"How does it feel, to be afraid and suffering and someone looking at you like you are nothing?"

The water surrounded his head entirely and Sakuno smiled when seeing him getting breathless, the desperate bubbles coming from his mouth.

Kaori and Ryoma ran after them. When they finally arrived, Kaori fell on her knees on the sand and Ryoma's golden eyes were wide in absolute shock.

Ren was dead inside the water circle.

The mermaid looked at her husband with the white eyes and her long red hair moved with the night wind. She smiled, showing her fangs and Ryoma noticed she was not her usual self. Something dangerous and primitive took over her and it made his blood cold inside his veins.


	27. Chapter 27

Shuichirou observed his wife for a while, inside the private cemetery of her family. The sun was setting on the horizon and she was sitting on the grass in front of Ren's tombstone. After everything that happened, he was buried without any ceremonies. His body was beside their father's grave.

Oishi got close to Kaori and touched her shoulder.

"It will be night soon. Let's go back and have dinner. You did not eat anything for the whole day."

"I am feeling like a failure." She lowered her face. "I never wished for such a thing to happen to him."

"I know." He kneeled down and hugged her. "But there are things you cannot control."

"I do not think I can look at Sakuno-san for now."

"She was just protecting Ryoma-kun."

"I know. It is just… he was my brother after all. We shared the same blood even before we were born. I wonder if there was something else I could have done for him."

"You did everything you could." He kissed her face. "Let's focus on the future from now. Muramasa is going to be fine because of you. You should be proud of yourself."

She stood up and touched the cold stone, the purple hair in front of her eyes.

"I do not feel proud at all." She said, quietly, before starting to walk away from the place.

Shuichirou took a deep breath and started to follow his wife.

############

Ryoma watched the night sky from the opened shoji of his room at the Muramasa's castle. He was unable to rest for the whole day and ate briefly, not leaving his wife's side.

After Sakuno killed his brother, she passed out on the sand. It was like a switch was turned off inside of her mind. He ran to his wife and held her, calling her name. She opened her eyes that were scarlet again and she whispered his name before falling into a deep sleep.

Putting his hand over her belly, he was finally able to feel his daughter kick inside his wife.

"I am so glad you two are fine." He held Sakuno's hand. "I was so worried."

He kissed her forehead and inhaled the smell of her hair he had missed so much.

"Please, wake up, Sakuno." he whispered. "I am here waiting for you."

###########

Ryoma encountered Shuichirou on the front garden. He was drinking some sake by himself, sitting on a bench.

He smiled at his brother-in-law and offered him a cup.

"Can't sleep either?"

"Yes." He sat down and took the sake Oishi offered in one gulp. "I feel like a sleep walker. I am so tired, but I am afraid something will happen to Sakuno if I close my eyes."

"I feel the same." He took another cup. "But Kaori was able to sleep. She was exhausted."

"How is your back?"

"It is healing just fine. I have a great doctor, you know." Ryoma was the one taking care of his wounds on the past days.

"A great doctor that has no idea of what is going on with his own wife." He said, sadly.

"Kaori told me what happened. So, she can use her scales as protection?"

"It was the first time I saw such a thing." He took a deep breath. "There is so much I do not understand and it makes me so frustrated."

"Aren't all relationships like that?" he smiled gently at his brother-in-law. "There are things we only found out along the way. No matter if they are human or mermaids."

"I think you are right."

"Is the baby okay?"

"Yes." He finally showed a little smile. "Even with everything that happened, she is moving properly. This pregnancy is making me reconsider everything I thought I know. Usually human babies start kicking around the 5 month but she is moving a lot, even being so little."

"Everything will be fine. I am sure." He poured another cup to himself and drank it slowly. "Soon we will have little feet running around the castle."

"My feelings didn't change, Shuichirou-san." He looked at him seriously. "I do not want to be Muramasa's lord."

"What?" he was really surprised.

"I just agreed with Kaori so we could overthrone Ren, but… I have no desires of staying on this place. Especially when our child is born."

"Can I ask you a favor, Ryoma-kun? Could you wait a little to talk to Kaori about this? After everything that happens, she…"

"Of course. Do not worry. Since I need to take care of my wife. I already gave her all the administrative duties for now. She already has many burdens and things to take care of." He stood up and placed the small cup on the bench. "Well, I need to return to Sakuno's side. Good night, Shuichirou-san."

"Good night. Try to rest a little."

"Thank you."


	28. Chapter 28

Sakuno opened her eyes slowly and turned her face. Ryoma was sleeping in front of her. He seemed so tired. Her fingers gently touched his face and the golden eyes opened to her.

"Sakuno?"

"Hello, Ryoma." She smiled gently and her husband hugged her very tight.

"Sakuno, you are awake!" he looked at her, his hands on her face. "You are finally awake!"

"Ryoma, what happened? How did I arrive here?"

"You do not remember?"

"No." she answered sincerely. "The last thing I recall was being at a festival with Ren."

"Sakuno, you killed him." The scarlet eyes were wide in pure shock. "He tried to attack me and you killed him."

Her hands grabbed the cloth of his yukata and her forehead rested against his chest.

"Ryoma… are you mad with me? He was your brother, right?" he noticed her hands were trembling with a genuine fear of his reaction.

"What are you saying?" he kissed her forehead. "You saved my life again. You were willing to stay with him so I could be safe. How could I be mad at you?" he showed her a small smile. "You are so brave, Sakuno."

"I just wanted to see you again." she hugged him. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too." He kissed his wife with all the love he had held inside on those long and scary days without her by his side. The mermaid melted on her husband's embrace like the white foam when finally reaching the sand.

##################

"Sakuno-san is finally awake." Shuichirou said, after he entered his wife's office. She was in the middle of signing some paperwork and did not look at him.

"I see."

"Ryoma asked about you. Aren't you going to see your brother?"

"Not now. I am busy. There are things I need to do while he does not take his seat as the lord."

"Kaori, stop for a while." He came close and touched her hand gently. "You did not leave this desk today. You did not even eat properly. It is dinner time already, come with me, please."

"I am busy!" she finally looked at him with a displeased look at the pink eyes. "Please, leave me be!"

The green eyes were deeply hurt. Kaori realized her wrong behavior and tried to reach her husband's hand but he turned around before she could apologize.

"I am sorry for bothering you. I will not do it again. Goodnight."

Kaori felt horrible for the way she treated her husband. But there was so much to deal in Muramasa, so much to fix from the things Ren had neglected, she just didn't have any spare time. She had to work hard for the state and its people sake. Everything else could wait for a while.

##################

Ryoma and Sakuno were having dinner inside his chambers. Since his wife was still a little weak, he managed to bring her ocean water to her legs. He had a small smile on while watching her eating. She was having seconds already. There was grilled chicken, rice and steamed vegetables.

"What is it, Ryoma?" she asked, after eating a piece of chicken. "You are not eating anymore."

"I am just glad you are not feeling sick anymore. And your appetite is good."

"I prefer your food, but there are moments I feel like dying if I don't eat." She ate two big pieces of vegetables.

"It is a normal thing, since the baby is growing inside of you. It is just a sign she is healthy."

Sakuno smiled and rubbed her belly.

"I hope we can go home soon, so we can swim together again." Her words surprised him and Ryoma got closer.

"Sakuno, do you wish to leave here? Do you want to return to that small house?"

"Of course." Her hand gently touched her face. "That place is our home, right? It is the place I met you. It is the place I want to raise our child."

The young human hugged his wife gently.

"That is right. That is our home." He looked at her with kind golden eyes. "As soon as you are feeling stronger, we will return there, okay? And I will cook you all the food you want."

"Okay!" she grinned happily.


	29. Chapter 29

The green eyes opened slowly, when Shuichirou felt his wife's kissing on his abdomen. She had losen the obi of his yukata. He looked at her and touched her purple hair, that was completely loose.

"Kaori, what are you doing?" he asked, still sleepy.

"Good morning. I am kissing my husband's beautiful body." She looked at him with a sensuous smile. "I moved my schedule around this morning so I could be with you."

"Is that so?" her kisses reached his navel. It was the first time they didn't sleep at the same time since they got married. Oishi was hurt with her words and when his wife's arrived to their chambers, he was already deep asleep.

"Yes." she whispered. "It took me a great effort to move things around; it is going to delay many things, but…"

Her words stopped when her husband sat down and looked seriously at her.

"I am sorry for disturbing you again from your duties. You do not have to do this, you should go to work."

"What are you saying?" she sat in front of him. She was really confused. "I want to make love to you." Her hands touched his face, but his expression didn't change. "I told you we were going to make a child after everything was solved, right? I want to do it now."

"I am not in the mood, sorry." He stood up and started to close his yukata.

"Are you okay? Is your back still hurting?"

"I am not at your disposition, you know." Her husband looked at her from above, with cold green eyes. "You cannot treat me like yesterday and expect me to just have sex like it did not matter. If we are going to have a child, I want it to happen in a happy occasion." He was about to leave when his wife stood up and grabbed his arm.

"So, what is this? Are you…rejecting me?" her heart was tight. "I am your wife!"

"And I am your husband." Oishi said, turning around. "But even though, you never treated me like a priority. Muramasa always comes first and you never think twice about pushing me aside to solve the state's problems. I am always waiting for you to remember about me in your list of important things. I feel like I am always begging for your attention." He was at the door and took a last look at her. "And, frankly, I am tired of feeling like that."

Kaori could feel the tears burning down her eyes, but she was too proud to let them fall or go after him.

############

Sakuno was happy her legs were finally strong enough for her to walk around. She looked at Ryoma and her husband was deep asleep. She wanted to let him rest for a little while and left the room. The mermaid took a deep breath, being able to feel the sun after such long days.

She wanted to walk on the garden a little, since it time she saw the grass. But, she stopped when she saw Kaori walking in hard steps on the castle and she turned around to follow her. Sakuno was not used to wear such long furisode, so she held the layers tight.

"Kaori-san!" her sister-in-law turned around when saw her and stopped.

"What can I do for you, Sakuno-san?" she asked, seriously. She was feeling extremely frustrated about the things with Shuichirou.

"I wanted to talk to you. About what happened to Ren, I…"

"It is not necessary." She was about to leave when Sakuno rushed in front of her.

"I am really sorry." She was sincere and her hands were over her heart. "I didn't mean to hurt him, I don't even know what happened. I was so worried, but Ryoma said he wasn't mad at me, so…"

"Shut up!" Kaori screamed. Her head was down and the purple hair was over the pink eyes. Her hands were closed tightly.

"Kaori-san?" she didn't know how to react.

"It is all your fault!" she looked at the mermaid filled with anger. "Why did you have to appear here?! Ryoma doesn't want to return home because of you, he is still not taking his seat as the new lord and you are the reason Ren is dead! I am so overwhelmed and it is all because of you!"

"Kaori." Ryoma appeared in the hallway, surprising her. He walked towards his sister with a deep frown on your face. "What do you think you are doing, talking to my wife like that? Apologize."

"You told her you were not upset our brother got killed?!"

"And why should I care? Ren made my entire life absolutely miserable. He was the reason I left. Do you have any idea of how hard it was to survive on that forgotten place? Of how much I struggled and suffered? And you were here, in the castle, living comfortably while I was out there. He tried to kill me again and he hurt Sakuno. I am glad he is gone otherwise I would kill him myself."

"Ryoma, stop." Sakuno was about to cry. She held his hand but he did not pay attention to her.

"As soon as Sakuno is better we are leaving. You can have Muramasa all you want. Make good use of it. I am done with his place."

##############

Sakuno followed her husband inside the room. He walked one side to the other and she closed the door quietly.

She could sense his heart beating fast and his blood boiling inside his veins.

"Ryoma, please, calm down."

"I am sick of her talking to you like that." he sat down on the outside porch. She hugged him from his back and kissed his face gently.

"I am sorry."

"Why are you apologizing, Sakuno?" he turned around and touched her face. "You did nothing wrong."

"But Kaori-san said…"

"Forget about her. Nothing that happened was your fault. My relationship with Ren was bad enough since the beginning. You are the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Really?" she showed him a small smile.

"Yes." He kissed his wife and the mermaid kissed him back. The kisses were slow and moist and Ryoma gently pulled her to sti on his lap. He couldn't remember the last time they shared such intimate kisses.

He was very upset and wanted to completely forget about that feeling on Sakuno's beautiful form. His wife moaned on his mouth and he held her even close, being careful with the small roundness of her belly. But, when he was about to lose her furisode, she broke the kiss and looked worried at him.

"Ryoma, wait!

"What is wrong?"

"You want to make love!" she accused him.

"I do." he responded with a small smile, going to kiss her neck when she pushed him from his shoulders.

"No, no, no! We can't!"

"Why not?" he was worried.

"Because it will hurt the baby!" she looked down. "After all, it is so big!"

Her husband chuckled with her words.

"It is not that big at all. And, you do not have to worry. Making love is perfectly safe."

"Really?"

"Yes." He caressed her face. "I would never do anything to hurt you or our child. But we do not need to do anything if you do not feel comfortable or do not feel like it."

"I want to do it!" she cupped his face and brought him close, her legs around his hips. "I really want to do it. Can we? Now?"

"Yes." Ryoma whispered on her lips, before kissing her. He stood up with his wife on his arms, never letting go of her mouth. He gently placed her on their bed. It was a solemn reunion and Ryoma was going to take his time.

The young human was about to take her clothes off when Kaori's voice interrupted them. She was by their door.

"Ryoma! Sakuno-san, come here, quickly!"

"Oh, no." Ryoma said, disappointed. He really wanted to have a private time with his wife. "What now?"

It took them a moment to open the door. Kaori had an excited smile on her face.

"What happened, Kaori?" he asked, still a little annoyed.

"There a young man here, who wants to talk to Sakuno-san! His name is Toshio and he said he is a merman!"


	30. Chapter 30

"Oh!" the handsome young man with long blue hair tight on a ponytail and deep blue eyes smiled at them. He was on the back garden, sitting on the grass under a big tree. He was wearing white and black stripped _jibei_. "You are real! People were talking about the red mermaid who saved Muramasa and I had to check it out!"

Sakuno walked towards the young man and kneeled in front of him. Sakuno touched his face, investigating his eyes.

"Are you…really like me?"

"Yes." He smiled gently at her. "Nice to meet you, Sakuno-san."

Toshio looked at Ryoma.

"You must be her husband, Ryoma-san. Nice to meet you too."

"Are you here to take her away, Toshio-san?" Ryoma asked, worried.

"What?" he was embarrased. "No way! Merpeople mate for life and I already have a wife for myself! She is back home, our first child is going to be born next month."

"Mate for life? But... you had a mate, right? Her name was Aki, a human." Ryoma sat by his wife's side.

"How do you know about my grandmother?"

"I got a manuscript! It was a diary of a human named Aki and she lived with a merman named Toshio and…" Ryoma remembered the last page of the manuscript and how Aki had died alone on the cave. "Ah, it cannot be. Aki-san, she died on the cave, right?"

"Not at all!" he laughed. "That was just one of the diaries she kept. She lost it after they moved from there. Since wintertime was very severe, my grandfather, Toshio, had to swim long distances to find them enough food. Doing it so in the frozen ocean can be complicated, so he took a long time. My grandmother told us she thought she was dying, but actually she was just having some real bad symptoms of pregnancy. My grandfather returned home just a couple of days after she finished that journal."

"So… she did not die? And they were able to have kids?"

"Of course! Granny died last year. She was 98 years old and passed away on her sleep. They had five children. My mother is the youngest of them. I am 22 years old now. I am a second generation."

"Is it really possible for us to have a healthy child?" Sakuno grabbed his hand and looked at him hopeful.

"Of course it is." His blue eyes were kind at her, trying to ease her mind. "Although I'm an only child, our family is really big!"

"How about your wife? Does she know about your nature?"

"Well, I had to tell her. She wanted to divorce me, thinking I was having an affair! Since I don't have full merman blood, I can control my tail a little. My mother can also stay away of water for a couple of days. If I go inside the water, my legs don't transform automatically and I can be away from the water for five days. But, I need to go to the sea on full moon nights. If I don't, it really hurts!"

"My legs hurt too!"

"It is horrible, right?! I would sneak out of the house and my wife was suspicious. I had to tell her after a while."

"How did she take it?"

"She was shocked at first, but then she got use to the idea. We always have lived near the sea, so things are easy."

"Toshio-san, can you tell us how pregnancy is for merpeople?" Sakuno touched her belly. "We are going to have a little girl and there is so much I don't know."

"Oh, you are expecting! Congratulations to you two. Well, nobody knows why, but it's more difficult to a merman to have a child with a human. For mermaids it is really easy. It just takes one time."

"Oh, no! It didn't happen just once. We had lots of sex!"

Ryoma blushed profusely, but Toshio only laughed before continuing.

"If the mother is human, the pregnancy time is 9 months. But, if the mother is a mermaid, it only takes 6 months. They cannot be swimming around with a big belly for so long."

Sakuno and Ryoma looked at each other and smiled. Kaori was right after all.

"Also, the mermaid mother can know the sex of the child, like you already do."

"Toshio-san, how does your family raise the children? Is it possible to be together with other humans?"

"Well, having to jump naked on the ocean from time to time is a little complicated when you live in a human town, but, we have our own place."

"What do you mean?"

"There is a small town at the south that is made with merpeople and regular humans. It's like a big family. It's also on the sea side, so all the houses have their own private dock. The ocean is always available. Everybody helps each other. I work there as a builder but we are always in need for new people."

'Ryoma is a doctor."

"That is nice! We could use you there."

"But, how do you communicate? I thought different clans couldn't understand each other." Sakuno said.

"Generations with human blood get along just fine." He smiled. "Why don't you go live there? It is an awesome place and it's inside a deep forest, so there are no dangerous humans around. You can raise a family safely there. I left for a while to work in another city, but I returned after I got married and told my wife about me."

He stopped for a while looking at Sakuno and touched a lock of her hair. Ryoma was a little jealous.

"People will get excited on knowing there is still a red mermaid around. You probably are the only one left.

"She says she has always been alone."

"Well, that is expected." He said, sadly. "The red merpeople were extinct because of predatory hunt. My grandfather said that the last one he saw was a couple 100 years ago when he traveled on Muramasa's water and the female was pregnant. They were probably your parents, right?"

"100 years? But she looks my age!"

"My grandfather looks about my age." He grinned. "Merpeople grown until adulthood and it goes very slowly from there. They only get gray hair up to 700 years old. It is really scary sometimes, because we are pretty much alike."

"He is still alive? How old is he?"

"341. He is still around, but he spends most of his time on the water since my grandmother passed away. But he comes to land once in a while, especially when there is someone new in the family. He is probably going to come back when my child is born."

"Can I ask you something more, Toshio-san?"

"Of course."

"Did your mother hunt when she was expecting you?"

"Oh, yeah. It scared the hell of my father. Once he woke up and she was chewing a shark on the kitchen." He laughed.

"She ate a seal." He pointed at his wife.

"It takes their bodies a while to adapt to a child with human blood, so they need extra nutrients. My mother was very sick when she was pregnant on the first weeks, so her body needed to compensate. It is like an instinct thing."

"Ah! Like bears going on hibernation or fishs going to the rivers to breed."

"We are not fish!" both of them scolded Ryoma. They looked at each other and giggled.


	31. Chapter 31

Ryoma entered his chambers after taking a bath. It was night already and he already had dinner with his wife.

Toshio stayed with them until after lunch, talking about merpeople and telling them stories of his family and the place where he lived. They invited him to spend the night at the castle, but he refused politely and returned home. His town was two days away from Muramasa and he wanted to go back to his wife as soon as possible.

Sakuno hugged him tight and was very thankful for everything he shared. Ryoma also thanked him for his knowledge.

The young human sat by his wife's side. She was leaning on the wall, rubbing her belly. There was a small lantern on, near their futon.

"Are you okay?" he asked, gently. "You were so quiet on dinner tonight."

"I am just thinking about all the things Toshio-san told us." There was a hint of sadness on her scarlet eyes. "He isn't even a full merman and he knows so much."

"You cannot feel bad about it. You grew up by yourself. He had a whole set of relatives to teach him things." He touched her face and showed her a small smile. "But know we know a lot too, so we can teach our child things when she is born."

Sakuno smiled and placed his hand on her belly.

"She is moving a lot tonight. She is very strong already."

"Just like her mother."

"Ryoma, what do you think about the place Toshio-san said? Where merpeople and humans live together?"

"I think it sounded nice. Why?"

"I spent so much time alone before meeting you." She lowered her head and looked at her belly. "I don't want the same to happen to her. Growing up by herself, without friends. What if something happens to us? She will be just like me, swimming alone in the ocean."

"Hey, what are you saying?" Ryoma held his wife's hand. "Nothing is going to happen to us."

"What if?" she looked at him seriously. "My parents probably didn't want me to be alone too, but… something did happen to them."

"Sakuno, do you want to live on that town?" he asked, kindly.

"I'm sorry." She averted her eyes. "I know I told you I wanted to go back home, but, I want to do what is best for her. I can only protect our child until the moment she is inside of me."

"You do not have to apologize." Sakuno looked at him and the golden eyes were filled with love. "You are worrying about our child like any other mother would." He kissed his wife's cheek. "You already are a wonderful parent, Sakuno."

"So, can we go?"

"Of course. But, we will have to go to the house to collect some things first. And, there is also some matters to deal in here, with Kaori."

"Okay." Ryoma kissed her forehead.

"Let's go to sleep. It was a long day and…" he was about to get up to bring the covers to bed when Sakuno's touch on his hand made him stop.

His wife looked at him and gently brought him closer to her. Ryoma recognize the lustful expression. Her hands cupped his face and she gave him a gentle and slow kiss. The mermaid was completely silent and she started to kiss his neck. She opened her husband's _yukata_ and her lips wondered on his shoulders and chest. Ryoma took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Sakuno stopped for a moment and removed her clothes to his sight and his heart raced, finally seeing the new contours of her body after so long.

She seemed to be 4 months already and she was so beautiful. Ryoma caressed her face, before giving her serious and deep kisses. He gently made her lay down and his hand brushed her curves before stopping between her thighs. The mermaid moaned his name and Ryoma's mouth was on her breast, enjoying the soft flesh.

He noticed she was incredibly sensitive and it didn't take long for her to climax with his caresses. Sakuno climbed her husband and Ryoma didn't waste any time to respond such passionate invitation.

If her pregnancy would progress faster than regular humans, soon they would be worrying about the birth, a newborn and all the attention a little one demanded. After everything they went through, Ryoma held his wife very tight, wanting to enjoy those intimate moment to their fullest.

#################

Kaori took a deep breath, unable to sleep. Shuichirou still didn't return home. She tossed and turned inside the blankets, waiting for him.

"Maybe he left me already." The pink eyes were filled with tears while she looked at the ceiling. The back _shoji_ were opened and the night breezed entered her room. Her thoughts were interrupted when her husband finally arrived and opened the door. Kaori turned around and closed her eyes, pretending she was asleep. Shuichirou laid by her side and she could sense the fresh smell of soap. He had just taken a bath. She was sure he could hear the loud heartbeats on her chest and she couldn't stop her insecurities.

"Where were you?" she asked, after a long while. He was about to sleep and opened his eyes when hearing her shy voice.

"Oh, you are awake. I went to the school to ask for my old job back. And then I stayed to help them organize some classrooms."

"You are teaching again?" she rolled to his side. "Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"You were too busy to talk to me on the past days." The green eyes were serious. "I didn't think you would care."

"I see." She lowered her head. Kaori had always feared that moment, when Shuichirou would stop loving her. But, still, her heart was aching tremendously and she turned his back on him, so he would not see the tears on her eyes. "Shuichirou, thank you for everything you have done for me. I am really grateful. And I am sorry for every time I made you feel like you were second place. But, I want you to know you are the top priority in my life and I really wanted to be with you until my ending days. I understand that you want to leave, because…"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, hugging her, whispering on her ear and interrupting her rushed words. "I am not going anywhere."

"You are not…leaving me?"

"Eh?!" he sat down and looked at her. "Where did this nonsense come from?"

"This morning!" she sat down in front of him. "You left and I did not see you for the entire day, so…"

Oishi pulled his wife from her small shoulders and kissed her hard. When he finally broke the kiss, Kaori looked at him without being able to reunite words on her brain.

"We only had a disagreement. I would never leave because of it."

"You… would not?"

"Of course not." His thumb brushed her flushed cheek. "We are married. Such things are going to happen. We talk about it, solve the problem and move on."

Kaori tears poured from her eyes like a waterfall. It was a mixture of relief and happiness, but her husband didn't know about that and he was desperate when she sobbed.

"Kaori, what happened?!"

"I thought you were gone for good. I was so afraid!" she tried to stop her tears, rubbing her hands on her face. "I love you so much, but I am totally clueless about these things. Every day I wonder why you have fallen in love with me, you could have done so much better! I am stubborn and hot tempered and…."

"Kaori." He cupped her face and his semblance was filled with gentleness. "We have been together for a long time. I know all about you, the good and the bad parts. But, I truly believe the good parts are awesome and worthy."

"I am so sorry for this morning. For making you feel neglect, I did not mean that." She grabbed his yukata and leaned her forehad on his broad chest. "I am really sorry, Shuichirou."

"That is okay." He caressed her purple hair. "Thank you for apologizing."

"I will make it up to you." She looked at him. "Tell me what do you wish. I would do anything."

"Okay." He pulled the obi from her yukata and opened it completely.

"What are you doing?!" she blushed profusely, putting her arms in front of her breasts.

"You said I could have whatever I want. I want you." He smiled at her. "Do you have any ideia of how difficult was to leave the bed this morning? I was distracted the whole day at school." His forehead touched hers and he looked deep inside the pink eyes. "It is not fair to tease me like that."

"I… I am sorry."

"I do not want to leave this room tomorrow, Kaori." He said, seriously. "Would you stay here with me?"

"Don't you have work?" his mouth was very close to her lips.

"Only next week." He kissed his wife and they laid down together.

He stopped for a moment and looked at her, the blurry pink eyes and the long purple hair spread all over the white sheets. Kaori touched his face with her fingertips, while Oishi took his clothes off, the green eyes never leaving her beautiful face.

"Okay." She answered quietly, bringing her husband back to a deep kiss. Soon her knees were on each side of his ribcages and Shuichirou united their bodies, his arms possessively around her petit frame, her breathless voice calling his name over and over into the night.


	32. Chapter 32

"Good morning, Sakuno." Ryoma said, gently, kissing his wife's cheek. Her long hair was over her naked body. She opened the eyes lazily and smiled at him.

"Good morning." She noticed he was not wearing a _yukata_. He was dressed with a dark _kimono_ and white _hakama_. "Why are you up so early?"

"I need to go to the city today. You do not need to get up, rest a little more. I brought your breakfast, you can eat when you are up."

"Okay." She closed her eyes and returned to sleep. Ryoma rubbed her belly a little, feeling his daughter soft kick, before pulling the covers over his wife.

He went to his sister's office and found it odd she was not here. While he was on the hallways, he saw an young servant going to the kitchen and stopped her.

"Excuse me, did you see my sister today?"

"Good morning, Ryoma-sama." She made a polite reverence. "I just took some breakfast to her chambers. Shuichirou-sama said his wife was going to take the day off."

"Is she unwell?"

"I don't know, my lord. But, Shuichirou-sama didn't look worried."

"I see. Thank you."

"If you excuse me." The young maid made another reverence before leaving.

Ryoma found it extremely strange. His sister was a workaholic. She would start her duties early in the morning and was the last one going to bed every day.

He reached Kaori's door and was about to knock when he heard muffled cries. He blushed profusely for realizing his sister was having an intimate time with her husband and jumped away from the door.

"Oh, well, I will tell her when I arrive home." he talked to himself before leaving.

############

"Ryoma-sama!" the short elderly woman smiled when he finally arrived at the community house. There were many people waiting for him.

"Chief." He showed her a small smile. She was the leader of the Muramasa's community and he remembered her working together with his father. She was the one who delivered him the people's requests. "Thank you so much for reuniting everyone in such short notice."

"Don't thank me! Everyone was anxious to hear from our new lord." She took Ryoma to the main seat at the hall.

"Silence everyone!" she clapped her hands. "Our lord arrived!"

The people were happy to see him there. There were men, women and even some children. Ryoma took a good look around and looked at them gently. Many of them were his patients from before he left town.

"Good morning to you all." He said, when everyone sat and were silent. "I apologize for not coming sooner after everything that happened. But, my wife is expecting and after everything that happened, I needed to spend some time taking care of her. I hope you understand." He made a reverence to his people. "Thank you so much for receiving me and taking a time of your chores to meet me today."

Ryoma raised his eyes and looked at them seriously.

"Unfortunately, even if it is a great honor, I cannot be the Muramasa's lord."

Everyone looked at each other with surprised expressions. The old lady looked at him, concerned.

"Ryoma-sama, what are you saying?! Your father entrusted the state to you!"

"I know all of you are aware I am not my father's legitimate heir, so I lived my life so far without any desires or competence to do so. A piece of paper does not change that. I only returned so I could help my sister to deal with Ren, but my wife was the one who ended up saving all of us." He looked at every one of the faces present. "My wife and our unborn child are my only priorities. I would be a terrible lord and it would not be fair to any of you. Muramasa deserves better, especially after everything Ren made you guys go through."

He took a parchment from his hakama's pocket and unrolled it in the middle of the room. There were some words written on it.

"Today I came to ask you to help me to do my first and last act as the Muramasa's lord. Kaori is the legit heir. She is the one that truly posses all the qualities to be a great ruler and I know all of you will agree with me. She always put Muramasa's well being before her own. The ancient law about the male heir is outdated and unfair. I want to give Muramasa to my sister. And certify that the future ruler of the state is going to win this land with their competence, not their birth alone. I do not want to see another cruel leader making people suffer."

Ryoma's forehead touched the ground and the people were completely silent.

"Please, I beg you to help me make things right, not only for now, but the future of Muramasa as well." He sat down and the golden eyes were extremely determinate. "Sign this paper, all of you who agrees to change the law and make Kaori the new leader of this state."


	33. Chapter 33

Kaori took a deep breath, drinking some tea at the inside gardens of the castle. It was already night. Her whole face was deep red, remembering all those long hours of love making to her husband. Shuichirou kissed every part of her body, making her moan and tremble. She thought she would die! The young lady was sure it was not even allowed to share so many passionate moments in a row. Looking at her reflection on the small cup, she was not able to hold back a small, satisfied smile. They have embraced each other so many times; she had red kissing marks all over her skin.

"I wonder if we were able to make a child." She talked to herself, before drinking the warm liquid.

It was the first time she didn't have to worry about an unplanned pregnancy since the day she first gave herself to him. Shuichirou wanted to wait until the wedding night, but they were young and in love. On a stormy night he was not able to return home and her father invited him to stay over.

Kaori went to the guest room only to wish her fiancé goodnight and she ended up staying up to dawn, before anyone could see the Muramasa's lady did not spend the night on her own chambers. They were extremely embarrassed the next morning on the breakfast table and Shuichirou felt incredibly guilty when his father-in-law, once more, talked about how satisfied he was with their relationship, since the commander was a noble and respectful young man.

She talked to Lady Mariko about it and she gave the Kaori some contraceptive seeds that had worked so far. They were supposed to get married on the fall of the same year, but her father became sick, Ren was made lord and Ryoma ran away. There were so many things that happened and Kaori had postponed her own dreams and wishes for Muramasa's sake for so many times. But, no more.

Kaori looked up to the starts and her heart was filled with motherhood wishes.

"Kaori?" her thoughts were interrupted by her brother's gentle voice. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure." the last time they talked to each other they were arguing. She felt a little awkward when her brother sat by her side. "How can I help you? Is everything all right?"

"There is something I need to give to you." He took the parchment and offered to her.

"What is this?" she opened it and started to read it. The pink eyes were wide in absolute shock and her hands began to tremble. "Ryoma... what is the meaning of this?"

"I had a meeting with Muramasa's people today. I asked them to give the state to you." He showed her a small, gentle smile. "All those signatures, all of them agree. You are now the new Muramasa's leader."

"But, the law… how?"

"I changed it." He pointed the paragraph to her. "It was not fair to you or any other competent woman that comes into the bloodline. If you and Shuichirou-san have a daughter, I want her to be the legit heir if she is apt to the job."

Her eyes were glistering with tears and she was reading all the signatures.

"If you were the rightful heir since the begging, those terrible things that happened to us and to Muramasa's people would never occur. I am just making the rightful amends."

Her brother hugged her very gentle and it was the first time Kaori realized how taller than her he had become.

"You are going to be an excellent leader, Kaori. I am sure of it. I am sure _Chichiue_ is happy. You were the one he always wanted for the job."

"Wait!" she looked at him with some fear on her expression. "I cannot accept just yet!"

"What are you saying?" he was really confused. "You have always wanted this."

"I need to talk to Shuichirou first! I cannot just decide things on my own anymore." She put her hands over her stomach. "We were talking about having a family, we were making plans. I promised him we would not postpone things anymore."

"Kaori…" she raised her head and looked at him seriously.

"I already made him wait so much."

"I understand." Ryoma showed her a small smile. "I am glad you are thinking about your own happiness. You should always do that, Kaori. You deserve it. "

"What you said about leaving Muramasa again, did you really meant it?"

"I did. When I first left, I suffered a lot, but soon I started to appreciate being away from here. I never fit anyway, I always felt like an outsider. Now, with Sakuno, I feel like I finally belong somewhere."

"Are you and Sakuno-san returning to that house on the beach?"

"We are going there for a while, but, we are moving to another place. Toshio-san told us about a town where merpeople can leave in peace. Sakuno wants to go there, so we can raise our daughter."

"Is it far away?"

"Just two days away." He touched her hand. "You will be able to visit the baby when she is born."

Kaori smiled and hugged her brother tight.

"I need to thank Sakuno-san for all the happiness she is giving you."

"Thank you." He hugged her back.

###########

"Where were you?" Shuichirou asked, when she returned to their chambers. He had fallen asleep but woke up when tried to hug her and found her side of the futon empty.

"I was outside talking to Ryoma." She replied, sadly, sitting by his side on bed. She had the parchment on her hands.

"Hey, what happened?" Oishi touched his wife's face and noticed her sadness. "Did you two argue again?"

"Not at all." She offered the paper to him. "He just gave me this."

"What is it about?" he opened it and started to read it. He looked at his wife extremely surprised. "Is this for real?!"

"Yes." she was unable to smile. "He changed the law and gave Muramasa to me." she touched her husband's face with both hands. "But, do not worry. I already told him I am not going to accept it if you do not want me to. I am done with waiting for us to start our own plans. So, if you tell me to decline, I…"

"What are you saying, Kaori?" her husband smiled at her. "You were born to do this."

"You are not upset?"her hands fell from her surprise.

"Of course not. Look at all this people who want you as their ruler." His forehead touched hers and he whispered. "I am so proud of you."

"But, what about our plans?" she looked at him worried. "What about our child? I promised you."

"I am not going anywhere. We have time. When things settle down, we can start our family."

"Thank you, Shuichirou. Thank you so much." she hugged him very tight, her heart almost jumping from her chest.

"You will be the best ruler Muramasa ever had." He said, his words heavy with love and truth.


	34. Chapter 34

Kaori stopped when seeing Sakuno on the gardens. She was happily sitting on the grass, under a big tree, collecting pink and white flowers. She took a deep breath and walked towards her sister-in-law.

"Sakuno-san. Can I talk to you?"

The mermaid was startled and got up quickly.

"I'm sorry! Am I doing something wrong?! Ryoma said I could stay here so…"

"It is okay." She touched her hands, feeling bad for her reaction. "You did nothing wrong. Can we sit? I really want to talk to you."

They sat together and Sakuno averted her eyes.

"Are you still upset with me?" she asked, quietly.

"I am not." Kaori was sincere. "I had no right to talk to you like that, I am so sorry. It is just… so much happened." She took a deep breath. "I was sad and feeling guilty for what happened to Ren and I was also feeling alone since Ryoma do not want to live here anymore. All of those were bad feelings that had nothing to do with you. I apologize for the harsh words."

"You really love your brothers, right, Kaori-san?"

"I do." She showed her a sad smile. "I am the oldest after all. Taking care of them was my responsibility."

"It seems really hard. Ryoma told me you also needed to take care of Muramasa for a long time by yourself." Sakuno held her hand gently. "You know, there is still so much for me to learn about many things. But, I have always been alone. I had no family and I thought that, if I helped Ren when he was on the sea, maybe I wouldn't be alone anymore." she smiled. The mermaid placed her hand over her belly and Kaori felt the soft kick. "You were so kind to me, Kaori-san, you kept me alive and saved me. It is because of you I met Ryoma and now we are going to have a child. I am not alone anymore and for that I will always be grateful to you."

"Sakuno-san…"

"I love Ryoma." The scarlet eyes looked straight at the pink ones. "I know you love him too, but, could you give him to me?" she placed her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. "I will love him for all my life and I will take care of him. Please, let me have him."

Sakuno's heart skipped a beat when Kaori hugged her, gently but tight.

"He is my precious little brother, Sakuno-san. He is the best thing my father left to me. And I know how much he loves you too." She looked at the mermaid with a smile and cupped her face. "He is already yours. So, promise me you will make him nothing but happy. Extremely happy."

"Yes!" she showed a big smile.

##############

"It has been a while, _Chichiue_." Ryoma said, gently, in front of his father's grave. He crouched down and put some flowers on his grave.

The soft spring wind blew the trees and plants around.

"So much had happened since you were gone. To make things short, I left Muramasa and now Kaori is the new heir. Just like you wanted to."

He took a deep breath.

"I am sorry for what happened to Ren, but I do not think there was another way to stop him. He made everyone suffer so much."

Ryoma touched his name on the grave.

"You are going to be a grandfather. I got married to a mermaid. Can you believe it? Her name is Sakuno. Well, I named her. She has the most beautiful red eyes and hair. Sometimes I wake up by her side and it takes me some time to be sure she is truly real and she chose me. She is so kind and caring, _Chichiue_. Strong and brave too." He smiled. "She is simply extraordinary and she is already a great mother. I wish you were here, so you could see we are all right. That Kaori is already doing a wonderful job to Muramasa and I wanted you to meet my family."

Ryoma felt his heart tight and lowered his head.

"Thank you, _Chichiue_ , for everything you have done for me. For acknowledge me and the faith you put on me, making me your heir. Thank you for being such a good father. I hope I can be the same for our daughter when she comes."

#################

"Hello." Ryoma found his sister working on her office. It was almost dinner time.

"Ryoma, come in." she smiled at him. "I am finally being able to balance Muramasa's income for this spring! I had to move some funds around but, it will definitely work and without adding more taxes to the people."

"I have no idea of what you are talking about." She giggled. "But, it sounds good."

"Do you need anything?"

"Sakuno is very happy about the conversation you two have. I want to say thank you for that."

"You should not." The pink eyes were gentle. "It was wrong of me, putting the blame on her for the things that were happening. Sakuno-san is wonderful. You picked well."

"Thank you." He sat across from her on the table. "We are going to leave tomorrow morning, Kaori."

"Already?" she asked, sadly.

"Yes. We need to visit our old house first to get some things and when we are going to the town Toshio-san told us about."

"I see. Well, at least it is a proper city. And just two days away."

"Promise to visit us when the baby is born. I will write you and let you know."

"When is that happening, exactly? Do you have any idea?"

"Not at all." He responded sincerely. "For the size of her belly, Sakuno is close to 4 months, so, we probably have at least 5 months to go. I will stick to that kind of math."

"Do you already think about a name?"

"Not yet. We decided to wait until she is born."

"I am sure she is going to be beautiful." She touched her brother's face. "You deserve to be happy, Ryoma. I really wish you all the happiness in the world, no matter where you are. You will always be my baby brother and I will always be here if you ever need me."

"I know." He showed her a small smile, before hugging her tightly. "I wish you the same, Kaori."


	35. Chapter 35

"Sakuno, be careful!" Ryoma shouted when his wife jumped from the horse as soon as they arrived at the beach. She was laughing happily and took off her clothes in the middle of the way, going into the sea. Her husband smiled. It was good to see her so happy.

It was a beautiful day and the sea was glistering, like welcoming her back after such long time.

While she was at the sea, Ryoma put the horse inside the fence and offered the animal food and water. He entered the house and looked around. It seemed like many years had passed since they were there. The young human opened the back shoji and the windows, letting the air and light inside. He remembered the first time he arrived at the place, hurt, alone, tired and scared. It was fall and the rain was falling heavily. He spent the first night in complete darkness, shaking from the cold, holding his body tight, trying to warm up.

Little by little Ryoma conquered the house and its surroundings He found the forest on the back, the hot spring. He was able to have wood for the fireplace and made an harpoon to fish. A boat was abandoned on some rocks near and he was able to catch more fishes and go to Momoshiro's city to sell them and make a little money, being able to by the futon, some blankets, more clothes and utensils for the kitchen. He lived there alone for an entire year before Sakuno appeared and made that place a home.

She returned from the sea when the sun was about to set. She found Ryoma on the garden, touching the dead sprouts.

"Our garden!" she was sad. "What happened to them?"

"Well, there was no one to take care of them, it is natural they would not resist."

"What are we going to do?" she looked at him and he stood up, showing a small smile.

"There is nothing to be done. We can have another one on our new house. I am sure it will work out this time."

"Really?!"

"Yes." She caressed her wet hair. "How was the sea?"

"Perfect!" she grinned. "I was really missing it."

"That is good." He kissed her forehead. "Let's go inside, so you can get dry and change. I do not want you to get sick."

####################

"It is so good!" she said, while finishing to eat some grilled pork for dinner. He had brought some food from Muramasa for the trip. "Your food is really the best, Ryoma!"

"Not really. But, I am glad you like it."

"Not only me." She put her bowl down and sat by his side, placing his hand over her belly. He felt a strong kick. "She likes it too!"

"Do you like Papa's food?" he asked, caressing her belly.

"Papa?"

"Well… it is a way to call parents." Ryoma was a little embarrassed. "Papa is for father."

"And for the mother?!"

"Ma…" he blushed. "Mama."

Sakuno grinned and put her hands over his.

"Can you hear it, little girl? I am your Mama!" she looked gently at her husband. "This is your Papa!"

The baby kicked again and Ryoma smiled.

"Do you think she can understand us?"

"I hope so. Or at least, recognize our voices."

"Ryoma, can you explain something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"How is she coming out of me? You said something about the birth. What is that?"

"Oh, really. We need to talk about this. It will take a while to happen. Your belly is going to get very big and heavy."

"Even more than this?!"

"Much more. Do you remember the watermelon we ate at Momoshiro-san's house? You are going to get that big."

"Eh?! It's impossible!"

"It is okay." He caressed her face to tranquilize her. "She needs to grown more to be able to be born properly."

"How can I know she is ready to be born?"

"First, your water will break."

"Water? What water?"

"The baby is in a bag of water inside of you. When she is ready to come out, it will break."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not that, but it will hurt later. There are things called contractions that will help the baby come out of you. They can take a few or many hours. It is different for every child."

"Is it very bad? The pain?" his wife was really apprehensive.

"It is." He felt horrible for already imagining the pain she would be going through and held her hands gently. "But, I will be with you during everything."

"You promise?"

"I do." He kissed her forehead and looked at her kindly. "After she is born, she is going to cry, but it is for a good thing. It is her first breath. She needs to cry so her lungs can work."

"Toshi-san said I can take her to the water after a few weeks. Can I really do it?"

"If she is healthy, I do not see a problem. She will be half of a mermaid anyway. But, the first weeks are really important for the mother and the baby. She cannot be in the water for long. We need to make sure she is eating and you are resting too. Childbirth can be really exhausting for both of you. We need to take care of the umbilical cord too."

"What is that?"

"Remember when I told you about your bellybutton?" he touched hers. "You and her are connected by a cord. When she is born, we need to cut it."

"Why?! I don't want be apart from her!"

"You will not be apart. She just will not need it anymore, since she is going to be able to breath and you are going to feed her."

"About that!" she pulled the collar of her yukata and showed her cleavage to him. "You said women feed their babies with milk, but I don't have milk on them! How is she going to eat?!"

"It is still too soon. You will have milk when she is born." He explained patiently, being happy about her concerns for their child. "They are also going to be bigger just like your belly."

"And how about sex? You are always kissing them; wouldn't it be weird for you?" he blushed a little.

"Well… it is not something we should be worrying for a while after the birth."

"Why not?" she came closer and interrogated his face.

"We are not going to be able to do it. At least for 40 days."

"Why?!" Sakuno cupped his face. "You won't love me anymore?!"

"Of course not! It is just your body will need the rest. I do not want to hurt you or do anything to risk your health. And a baby is a lot of work. You will be very tired. I want you to sleep on your free time when she is not hungry or crying. A baby does not know when it is night or day. She will wake up at the strangest hours."

"I see." hers arms were around the small roundness and there were some concern on her expression. "Ryoma, do you think I will be able to take good care of her? I don't want to make any mistakes."

"I am sure of it." He rested his forehead against hers and looked deeply the scarlet eyes. "And I will take care of you two."

"Okay, then." She smiled and kissed him tenderly.


	36. Chapter 36

Ryoma took a deep, relaxed breath. His wife was taking a nap on his chest and his hand caressed her hair. They were both on the beach, laying naked over a sheet. Sakuno invited him to swim with her. The sun was still up, but since it was the end of the afternoon, it was not too hot, just pleasant.

Ryoma witness the moment her legs transformed into her tail, being covered in the glistering red scales. His wife held his hand and smiled. It was the first time they swim together. She pulled him effortless, moving her body into different directions. They went inside the kelp forest and inside some caves, but Ryoma had to stop from time to time and go to the surface to breath. Sakuno never needed it and he thought it was simply amazing. He wondered if their child was going to be able to do the same.

After a while, they returned to the beach and lay there, holding each other. She felt asleep on his arms and he smiled. Looking up, he observed the slow white clouds and the blue sky, listening to the soft sounds of the tides coming and going. He would miss that place so much. Although it was a little difficult to live there, it was still full of raw beauty.

He smiled to himself, thinking about their child. Was she going to look like him or her? Toshio-san said he looked just like his grandfather, so the merpeople blood was possibly stronger. He wanted to teach her so many things already and follow all her milestones. And, someday, she would be all grown up, would fall in love and have a family for herself. He and Sakuno would be grandparents and more little lives would exist because of their encounter. Ryoma's heart was already overflowing. He kissed his wife's forehead gently and inhaled the fresh smell of the ocean on her hair.

######################

"We are all pack." Ryoma said, finishing putting the small bottles with medicine inside the bag at the horse's saddle. They were also taking away their clothes and some objects from the kitchen. They could buy the rest at the new city.

Sakuno was wearing a dark green kimono with white clovers and her hair was tight on a braid. It was early in the morning. She looked at the house with a hint of sadness on her eyes. She had made a garland of colorful flowers she had picked from the forest near and placed it on the door, touching the wood with her hand.

"Thank you for being my first home." Her voice was very gentle. "I hope you can stand for many years to come."

Ryoma smiled softly. He came close and kissed Sakuno's cheek.

"Are you ready to go to?"

"Yes." She answering, holding his hand tightly.

#####################

Kaori waited anxiously for the school bell to ring. She was sitting on a small bench at the entry of Muramasa's school. She had a small envelope on her hands and was impatient.

The Muramasa's lady stood up and went to the back garden, looking for her husband's classroom windows. She took a peak in. Shuichirou was teaching adjectives to a group of seven years old. She smiled watching him. He looked so happy, saying the words while the children repeated them.

One of the little boys sitting near the window realized she was there and looked at her surprised.

"Ah! It's Kaori-sama!"

All the children turned around and ran to the window. The Muramasa lady was extremely embarrassed with all those little people looking at her.

"Kaori-sama, what are you doing here?" a little boy asked curiously.

"Ah, I…." she didn't know what to say.

Shuichirou chuckled and came close, crossing his arms and looking at her.

"Good afternoon, Kaori-sama. How can I help you?"

"Sensei, she is your wife, right?!" a girl asked with a smile.

"She is." He responded gently.

"Sensei is so luckly!" another girl said. "Kaori-sama looks like a doll!"

"She is the one who prepares the cute _obento_ for me every day."

"Wow!" a boy looked at her. "I want a wife like her!"

"What adjectives can we use to describe her?"

"Beautiful!"

"Pretty!"

"Short!" a little boy said and Shuichirou laughed, rubbing his light hair.

The bell rang, indicating the end of classes and the children waved and said "bye bye" to Kaori before leaving the room.

Shuichirou closed his room and organized things, before joining his wife on the back garden.

Her wife's face was extremely red and Shuichirou thought it was adorable.

"Thank you for coming to visit me today."

"Why did you tell them about your _obento_?! It was our secret!"

"Why shouldn't I? You prepare it with a lot of love and care." He kissed her cheek. "I like being spoiled by you."

"Even so…" she averted her eyes, still embarrassed.

"Is everything all right? Why did you come here today?"

"Ryoma sent a letter!" she finally smiled, showing him the small envelope.

"Oh, that is great!"

"Let's go home so we can read it together!"

#####################

" _Dear Kaori, I hope things with you, Shuichirou-san and in Muramasa are well. We spent some days on the road, visiting the cities on the way before arriving at the place Toshio-san invited us to. I wanted to show Sakuno different sights and different people. We also tried new foods. She loved everything, even though she still says my food is the best. It was like a second honeymoon and she was really happy._

 _When we finally arrived at Toshio-san town, everyone looked amazed at Sakuno. It was the first time they saw a red mermaid. She was a little uncomfortable with the attention, but soon Toshio-san introduced us to everyone and she is more at ease. We met Toshio-san's wife and she is caring and gentle and Sakuno already made friends with her. It will be good for her to see a mother and child before her own birth. We live in the farthest house of the village, because we wanted the privacy._

 _People were happy I was a doctor, before they had to call someone from another city. I already had some appointments. There is always someone bringing food to our place to thank me for the services and Sakuno loves it. Our house is a little bigger than the one we lived before and we are already making plans to our daughter's room. We have a new vegetable garden. Sakuno takes good care of them and she is anxious to see them grown. I taught her how to cook some easy dishes and she is doing well. She said she will cook something for you two when you arrive here. There is a small dock on the back and Sakuno can go to the sea whenever she wants it."_

 _We still did not meet the other Toshio-san. It is difficult to know which ones are the merpeople and the regular humans. Everyone here lives in great harmony and I am happy we were able to come._

 _The baby is doing fine and growing properly. Sakuno's belly looks like 5 months old, so the birth is probably going to happen in the spring. We are thinking about a name related to it. I like Harumi and Sakuno likes Haruki, so we are still debating on that. Sakuno is well and healthy and people told us the birth for mermaid is not different from humans, so I am more at ease. I will write more as the months go by and I will let you know when our little girl is finally here._

 _I miss you very much and I hope we can see each other soon._

 _From your brother,_

 _Ryoma_."


	37. Chapter 37

"Thank you for having me." The tall young man said, with a gentle smile. His dark blue hair reached the middle of his back and he had kind eyes of the same color. He was very handsome and his jaw line was strong. He had a deep and calm voice. Sakuno still couldn't believe such ancient merman was actually having dinner with them. "The food smells very good."

"Sakuno was the one who prepared dinner." Ryoma said, proudly.

They finally met Toshio. His grandson was right, he would come back to meet a new member of their big family. The younger Toshio told him about the red mermaid and he asked to be properly introduced to her. Since Ryoma was on their house to make the follow up on the new mother and baby, he offered him a meal at their place.

There was so much he wanted to know and it would be a great opportunity. It took them a while to be able to set a date. There were a lot of people for the merman to visit and things to do and Ryoma was also busy since the weather was colder now. Fall was on its peak.

Sakuno was very excited about it but now, sitting across from him, she was reserved and quiet, not sure of what say or ask him. The merman realized her anxiety and smiled kindly at her, trying to put her at ease, while Ryoma was serving them.

"Thank you for the food, Sakuno-san.". The merman realized her anxiety and smiled kindly at her, trying to put her at ease, while Ryoma was serving them.

"It is indeed delicious. You are very talent." He said, after tasting the ramen's stock.

"Thank…thank you." She said, with a slight blush on her face.

"Aki loved ramen. She always prepared it for me and the children on cold days. Even for our grandchildren too."

"Wasn't it hard for you to stay in the ocean for so long after living on the land, Toshio-san? Your grandson told me you stay there even in winter times now."

"Not at all. We cannot feel the cold." He ate some meat. "I imagine it is the same for Sakuno-san."

"I keep telling him I cannot be sick when I am wet from the water, but he insists in making me dry quickly and put some clothes on." She finally started to relax around him.

"I am just worried. You are expecting after all." His wife's belly was already as big as a seven month old.

"All a father can do is worry. The mothers do all the hard work. But, be at ease, Ryoma-san. A mermaid with child is very strong. Their bodies adapt so the baby can be safe." He explained before eating some noodles.

"Ah!" Sakuno remembered a question. "Once I was able to create scales in my arm, to protect him! Is it something common? I was not able to do it since then."

"Not at all. It was a response of your body to keep your child and your mate safe."

"Toshio-san, are you really more than 300 years old?"

"Yes. I have seen many things and swam in many seas." he looked at Sakuno. "When my grandson told me about a red mermaid, I was unsure if you were the offspring of the couple I met 100 years ago. But, now, looking at you, I have no doubts. You look exactly like your mother."

"Did you really meet my parents?"

"Yes. But, since different clans cannot talk to each other, I was not able to have a conversation with them. Your father was very protective. He showed me his fangs at the time." He chuckled. "Well, what could I expect? I was a young male swimming close of his pregnant mate. Of course he saw me as a potential threat."

"Do you know what could have happen to them?" Ryoma asked.

"Those were very difficult times for all of us, specially the red ones." His eyes had a little sadness. "We were hunt mercineless by the humans and the red mermaids were killed and their tails stolen from their bodies. I still can remember the bloody sea with many red mermaids floating lifeless at the ocean. It was a dreadful sight."

"How could I have survived? Since I can remember, I was always alone."

"Mermaids can create a way to protect their offspring if they feel threatened while still pregnant. It is shaped like a bubble, but solid like a pearl. It can only be broken by the child inside. They probably did that so you could be safe and you probably were asleep inside of it until the nutrients ended and your body was able to take care of itself."

"Like an egg." Ryoma completed.

"Yes. But it takes a tremendous energy for the mother to do such a thing. It is a last resource. Most of the times, our offspring is born like the human babies, even with the tails. The mothers and fathers carry them around until they are able to swim by their own."

"So…my mother saved me?"

"No matter if it is a mermaid or a human; all mothers put their child safety first. Even with the cost of their own lives." He smiled gently.

"I have something for you, Toshio-san." Ryoma stood up and returned with the manuscript on his hands. "I bought it a while ago."

"It is Aki's diary." He touched the pages with extreme care. "From when we first started to live together. She was so sad when it was lost. We just realized when we were already living here." The blue eyes were glistering with tears, seeing his wife's calligraphy and words after such a long time again. "Thank you so much, Ryoma-san."

Sakuno touched his hand.

"You still love her a lot, don't you?"

"Of course." He smiled. "For all my life. She gave up everything to be my side and she gave me so much, she taught me so much. She passed away inside my arms, in our bed, in our home. Her dark hair had become so white, like the foam on the sea. She had lost the strength on her legs, so I became her legs. Sometimes she would cry and said I was stuck with an old lady. But, I never regretted anything. The ocean is so vast and even though we were able to meet each other. I was meant to be hers. I will be hers forever."

#################

They continued to talk until late hours. Toshio was very happy to meet them and said he would return to land to meet their child.

Ryoma washed the dishes and organized the kitchen before going to the bedroom. He found Sakuno laid on their futon, rubbing her belly while the fireplace crepitated. Her husband laid on her back and hug her tightly.

"Are you okay? You are so quiet."

"I am just thinking about what Toshio-san said. It's so sad his wife passed away. They loved each other so much."

"It is the natural course of life for us." Sakuno turned around, being careful with her roundness and touched his face.

"It is not fair. I want to be with you forever."

"I know." He showed her a small smile. "But, you should not think about such things now. I do not want you to be sad for something we cannot avoid."

"But…" he kissed her softly. The golden eyes looked deeply at the scarlet ones.

"Do you know about the legend of the red thread of fate?"

"No. What is that?"

He touched her pinky with his.

"The legend says we are all born with an invisible red thread of destiny in this finger, which connects us with the person we are fated to meet. My red thread is connected to you." He kissed the back of her hand. "We were meant to find each other."

His wife smiled.

"The years will pass, I will grow grey and old by you side, but I will love you until my last days."

"I will love you too."

"On my next life, I will come to you."

"Next life?"

"Yes. If I am born again, I will look for you." His fingers gently brushed her cheek. "No matter what, I am sure I will find you again."

"I will wait for you, Ryoma." She said, before kissing him deeply.

In a few minutes their clothes were abandoned and their naked figures were bathed by the fireplace shadows. Sakuno touched his half opened mouth. His dark and sweaty bangs were glued to his forehead and his eyes were serious. It took him a great effort to maintain his back straight. Ryoma really wanted to hold his wife tightly but he needed to avoid making pressure on the abdomen. He kissed her knee and the little scar on her thigh. He bent a little, supporting his weight on his arms, kissing the space between her breasts and being able to feel her strong heartbeats.

"Are you okay?" he asked, breathless, his lips brushing the soft skin of her neck.

Sakuno rose her hips, urging him to go deeper and his concerns melted against her wetness.

A few weeks had passed since they made love. With the crescent belly, Sakuno was getting more tired and would sleep earlier. There were days her legs and back were very sore and he massaged ointments to relieve her discomfort. He knew she was fine on the water but wanted to stay the most time on land to be with him. Ryoma didn't want to impose his needs on her. But, he had to admit he had missed her so much and was more than satisfied to oblige to her desires. It was never just about sex between them. It was the intimacy, her sighs, her trust and the complete surrender. Ryoma slowed down a little and focused on her expressions, the scarlet eyes filled with nothing but him.

For someone who was almost killed once, Ryoma didn't worry about death, but he feared to leave her behind. Her smiles, her sweet voice calling his name, the warmth of her body, everything would be taken away from him. So, he wanted to enjoy every small second by her side. On the midst of absolute pleasure, his heart was clenched inside his chest, overflowing with the deep and heavy love he felt for his wife.


	38. Chapter 38

The strong blizzard was blowing outside on that gelid night. Inside their home, Ryoma was rubbing his wife's lower back. Her belly was big and heavy, like she was 9 months along and she was extremely painful even for walking towards the sea. Her baths were quick and brief and Ryoma would wait for her to return in the middle of the strong winter. Even sleeping was difficult.

"I am sorry you are in such pain." He said putting some pressure with his thumbs. She was laying on her side. "I am worried about you, you did not eat properly for the whole day."

"It feels like she is kicking my ribcages." She said in a deep breath. "She is moving so much. My knees hurt, my legs hurt, it's hard to breathe."

"I am sorry." He moved a little and Sakuno laid on her back. He caressed her round belly over her yukata and talked gently. "Hey, little girl. Let your Mama rest for a while, she is very tired."

Sakuno smiled and touched her husband's hair. The moving inside of her subsided a little.

"She likes Papa's voice." She was finally able to take a deep, comfortable breath. "Ryoma?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to make another baby after she is born?" her question surprised him.

"Well, I never thought about it before." He showed a small smile. "Since this one was a complete surprise. Do you really want to have more? Even with all this discomfort?"

"I do." She touched his face. "I do not want her to be alone. At least a brother or a sister, so they can grown up and play together."

"It is fine by me." He kissed her belly. "Did you hear it? You will be a big sister someday."

"I hope she looks like you."

"Well, Toshio-san's children really look like him. But I will be happy either way. She is ours anyway. My blood and yours."

Sakuno's eyes were filled with love and she touched his neck, bringing him close to a soft kiss.

Ryoma laid by her side and caressed her belly.

"You know, tomorrow is going to be my birthday. I will be 19."

"Really?!" she felt bad. "I'm sorry, I had no idea!"

"It is okay, you did not know." He caressed her face. "It will also be the anniversary of the day I found you at the beach."

"The day you saved me." She smiled at him. "I am sorry I bit you back then."

He chuckled and kissed her gently.

"I was so afraid of you. I thought you would kill me on my sleep."

"If I am feeling better tomorrow, let's celebrate. I will prepare any food you like."

"You do not have to worry about it." The golden eyes were kind. "You already gave me the best gift possible." He held his wife's hand and kissed it. "Thank you for being in my life, Sakuno."

She held his chest tight and closed his eyes, listening to his heartbeats. Since she was so tired, it didn't take long for his wife to fall asleep next to him, while his hand continued to brush her round belly.

#################

Sakuno woke up when realized she was alone on the bed. She stood up, very slowly and went to the living room, finding her husband at the door, talking to one young man from the village. The falling snow had transformed into a terrible blizzard and the young man entered quickly. He was wearing a heavy brown coat with a hood.

"Ryoma-san, I am so sorry for bothering you at such hour, but my daughter slipped on the ice and hurt her ankle earlier in the night. We think it might be broken and she is crying a lot. She is only 5 years old. Could you come with me to check on her? Please." He was really nervous.

"I am sorry, but I cannot leave the house right now. My wife is not feeling well, so…"

"You have to go!" Sakuno said, appearing on the living room.

"Sakuno, why are you up?!" he rushed in front of her. "You should be in bed!"

"I am fine, I am just tired. You can go and help her." She squeezed his hand and said gently. "It is a little girl, just like ours."

"Are you really okay? Can I leave you for a while?"

"Yes. I will be here waiting for you."

"Okay, then."

"Thank you very much, Sakuno-san!" the father made a deep reverence in front of her.

"I hope she will be better soon." She said, while Ryoma was putting a heavy coat on.

"I will be home as soon as possible."

"Be safe." He kissed her cheek before leaving and Sakuno took a deep breath, feeling a pressure on her lower abdomen.

"Well, it is just the two of us now. Are you hungry?" she asked the baby, before walking towards the kitchen. Her husband had prepared vegetable soup for dinner.

Sakuno drank the rich liquid slowly. She had been feeling nauseated for the whole day. She was happy she was finally able to eat a little. The mermaid stopped by the windows and looked at the blizzard with concerned eyes. It was terrible outside.

"I hope your father is well." She said, rubbing her belly.

She was already at the kitchen counter when she felt her legs, feet and her yukata wet. Sakuno touched the liquid and it was transparent and warm. The floor around her was wet as well.

She was confused for a moment, until the memory of Ryoma's words when they were talking about the birth rushed to her mind.

" _First your water will break_."

Sakuno's heart was stricken with absolute fear. She was completely alone in the middle of a snowstorm and about to have a baby.


	39. Chapter 39

Sakuno's whole body trembled in deep pain. She was on the futon, her jaw clenched, trying to endure the contractions. The mermaid could feel the sweat on her body and the tears on her eyes.

A whole hour had already passed. The blizzard continued to crash into the night and Ryoma had not arrived yet.

She didn't know how to breathe to relieve the pain; she didn't know the position she was supposed to be. The mermaid was laid on the dark, curled on herself, pressing the covers tightly until her hands were sore. It was the worst pain she had ever experience in her life, even worse than the one she felt when she was outside the sea for too long.

Sakuno used a lot of strength to stand up. She wanted to leave the house and find her husband on the city. But, soon, another contraction hit her to the core and she crouched down, holding one of the wood pillars of her home, releasing a painful scream.

"What should I do?! It was not supposed to happen now! Please! Your father is not here! There is still so much I don't know! I cannot do this without him!"

Her tears fell on the floor and she could feel her skin trembling completely.

###########

"It is not broken, it is only twisted." Ryoma smiled gently to the little girl, after examinating her foot, trying to put her at ease. "You are such a strong girl."

"It hurts!" she was sitting on her mother's lap and her round face was covered in tears.

"I know, but you will be feeling better soon." He had some bandages with him. "It will hurt a little bit. Can you give your mother a big hug?"

She obeyed and kept herself still, while he gently immobilized her small foot and ankle.

"There you go. All done."

"Really?!" she looked at her foot. Ryoma touched the top of her hair and she grinned.

"You will need to rest for a while, okay? No playing or running for at least three weeks. Can you do that?"

"Yes!"

"Let's go to bed, little lady." Her father picked her up from her mother's lap and she waved to Ryoma.

"Bye bye!"

"Goodbye." He showed her a small smile.

"Thank you so much, Ryoma-san." The mother said, gently.

"I will bring some medicine for the pain tomorrow. For now, just apply ice every four hours for the next days."

"How is Sakuno-san? I haven't seen her around for a while. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, she is just feeling uncomfortable since she is getting to the last weeks of pregnancy. The baby will probably be born on the first week of spring."

"Did you choose a name yet?"

"Not really, we are still talking about it."

"I took a look on the window, the blizzard got even worse." The husband approached them. "Ryoma-san, can you wait a little so we can go safely?"

"Of course."

"I will prepare some tea for us." The wife said, before going to the kitchen.

################

Sakuno opened her eyes slowly. She had fainted due to the pain. The mermaid was sitting with her back on the wall, near the fireplace. She was covered in sweat, the red bangs glued on her forehead. She was so thirsty, but she had no strength to get up and drink some water. She could hear the strong wind blowing outside her house.

She touched her belly and realized the baby had stopped kicking. Her hands circulated her belly one more time and there was nothing. Despair started to run on her mind. Her daughter was never still, especially on those last days. Another contraction hit her and she clenched her teeth.

"I have to push you out." She remembered Ryoma's words again. "You need to come out."

Sakuno took off her sweaty clothes and took a deep breath, closing her eyes when another contraction squeezed her womb. She picked up her white furry coat that was hanging on the wall and put it on the floor. She kneeled on the coat and was able to smile a little, feeling her baby kick again.

"I know Papa is not here, but, Mama will do her best, okay? Please, be born safely."

She closed her eyes and tried to understand her body better. She noticed that every time she had a contraction, her muscles worked on their own and she started to push, in pure and raw instinct. Sakuno groaned, closing her fists tightly, trying to deal with the pain.

Half an hour passed by so slowly. Sakuno was breathless and exhausted and there was no sign of her baby. She laid on her side, crying, desperate calling Ryoma over and over inside her mind.

##############

Ryoma looked at the storm from the window. Two hours had passed since he left home already and the blizzard continued to blow fiercely.

"Ryoma-san, you are probably tired, right? I am sorry I made you come under such conditions." The husband said, concerned. His wife had already gone to bed.

"I am worried about Sakuno." He said, the golden eyes never leaving the widows.

"It is so scary, right? To have a pregnant wife, to be a father. I remembered I almost fainted when our daughter was born. Since she was half a mermaid, my wife couldn't have her on the ocean. We had to wait for a long time to a doctor arrive from the other city. Everyone is really glad that you are living here now."

"I am also glad of being useful." He replied, gently. "But, I really wanted to be home right now."

################

Sakuno touched her body. Looking at her fingers, there was some blood in them. Ryoma had explained that babies were born covered with a little blood and that the head would come first. The mermaid moved and kneeled down again, pushing in the intervals of the fast contractions.

She looked up and felt the warm tears running down her face. She used all her strength, her whole body trembled and her screaming echoed on the empty house.

"Please, please…" she begged for strength on those last pushes, her hands already feeling the baby's head.

The newborn slid down from her body into her hands and Sakuno placed her on the coat, slowly, with a smile in the middle of her tears. It was indeed a little girl. She had her mother's red hair. But, Sakuno soon noticed something was not right. The baby did not cry.

She picked up the child and put it on her chest, vigorously rubbing her little back.

"Please, cry! You have to cry! Your father said you have to cry!"

#############

Ryoma smiled when he saw his house. The storm had stopped but snow continued to fall on those early hours of a new day. The sun was about to rise. The young man had accompanied him until a few meters on the front garden.

He felt happy. Helping someone in need was a good way to start a new year on his life. He wondered if Sakuno was able to eat and if she managed to rest.

He opened the shoji slowly, not wanting to disturb his wife if she was sleeping. But, just after taking some steps inside, his heart dropped from his chest and the golden eyes were wide in absolute shock.

Sakuno was leaning on the wall next to the fireplace. There was a small stain of blood on her white coat. She raised her head and looked at him with a small, exhausted smile. Her hands were also a little bloody and she was holding their daughter. The little girl was on her chest, completely safe and healthy, already nursing while enjoying the warmth of her mother's embrace.

"Look." she said with a sweet voice. "Papa is finally home."


	40. Chapter 40

Shuichirou woke up feeling the familiar smaller body pressed on his and he was surprised. His wife was holding him.

"Kaori, what are you still doing here?" he caressed her hair. "Are you not going to be late for work?"

The Muramasa lady would always start the day earlier than her husband. Oishi was already used to wake up to an empty bed.

"I have finished everything last night." She answered with closed eyes and a sleepy voice. "And it is so cold. I took the day off. Can I stay here with you?"

"Of course." He was very happy and kissed her forehead. "The school is closed until spring, I am all yours."

She held him tighter, her forehead on his chest.

"Are you okay?"

"Today is Ryoma's birthday." Her voice had a hint of sadness. "It is the second time we spent it apart."

"I see." Shuichirou touched her face gently and made her look at him. "But, he is well, right? He just sent you a letter two weeks ago."

"Yes." She smiled. "He said Sakuno-san and the baby are doing just fine."

"He is probably even more anxious now it is so close to the birth. He is going to be a great father."

"Shuichirou." she caressed his dark hair. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"I…I decided to take a whole day off every week!" her voice and expression were really serious and determinate.

"Oh." He was really surprised.

"I want to spend this entire day with you. No work, no meetings, just you and me."

"Can you really do that?" he knew his wife very well. "I will be happy if you can manage it, but I do not want you forcing yourself."

"I was able to plan Muramasa's entire spring already." She sat down and looked at him confidently. "If everything goes according to my schedule, since we already had a lot of economic adjustments, we will be completely recovered from Ren's debts by summer."

"That is awesome, Kaori!" he was really proud of her. "I knew you would be a fantastic leader!"

"I could not do it if it was not for you, Shuichirou." She cupped his face. "If I am able to do a proper work it is because I have you by my side. You understand me and you always support me. Thank you so much."

"I just want my wife to be happy." He smiled.

"I am more than happy."

"Good." Shuichirou said, before kissing her.

################

The baby made mewing sounds while her father was finishing cleaning her little body with all the patience and care. Ryoma could still hear his heart pounding like drums on his chest. His daughter already had her umbilical cord treated properly and he had brought the futon to the living room so Sakuno could finally be more comfortable.

He had already cleaned his wife body and examinated her. Sakuno was fine but she noticed something was off. Two hours had already passed slowly. Ryoma was very serious and the dark bangs were over his face.

"Ryoma, are you all right?" she asked, softly, laying on side. "Is something wrong with her?"

"Not at all." He finally talked again, his hand caressing the baby's soft red hair. She moved her little arms and legs, like realizing she was finally outside her mother's womb. "She is perfect. Her little heart is fine, her lungs are fine. Ten fingers and toes. You did everything right, Sakuno, I am so proud of you." Ryoma wrapped his daughter inside a light yellow wool blanket Kaori had sent her on the month before and Sakuno noticed the silent tears falling from his face while he took care of her.

"Ryoma…"

"I am sorry." He hugged his child and his voice shattered. "I am so sorry. I was not here for you, you had to deal with all of this all by yourself. I am sorry."

"It was not your fault." Her voice was so gentle it hurt his heart even more. "She wasn't suppose to come today, right? And you were doing your job, of taking care of people. You are a doctor, after all."

"But I was supposed to be here, taking care of you two." he looked at her and the golden eyes never looked so hurt. "What is something had gone wrong? What if…"

Sakuno stretched her arm and touched his face, caressing his wet cheek.

"Nothing bad happened. I am well and she is safe. Please, don't be sad."

Before he could say anything else, the baby started to cry on his arms.

"Come here, Ryoma." He obeyed his wife's request. He moved the heavy covers a little and laid in front of her, placing the baby between them. Sakuno loose the collar of her clean yukata and started to nurse the baby again. Ryoma was amazed by realizing she already knew their daughter's needs. She was already a real mother.

"You were right. As soon as she was born, I had milk on them. I was so glad she could eat."

He knew she was incredibly tired. As soon as he got close to her, she asked for water and drank a big jar in one gulp. But, there was a deeply calm aura all over her.

"She is so tiny." She touched the baby's forehead with her own and closed her eyes. "My belly was so big, I thought she would be like a watermelon."

"She is beautiful." He caressed his wife's face. "Just like you."

Sakuno smiled at him.

"I think she hurried up so she could be born on the same day as her Papa. Isn't it nice? You and her share the same birthday now."

The realization finally made him smile.

"That is right."

"You know…" she talked to the baby, touching her little fingers. "Papa and Mama loved you since we knew you were inside of me. You are the proof of our red thread of fate. You are here because we love each other." Even being tired, he was sure Sakuno never looked more beautiful. The scarlet eyes looked at him so kindly. "I know it is your birthday, Ryoma, but, thank you. For giving me a family."

He got closer, being careful with the baby between them and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you for giving me a family as well."

Sakuno fell asleep while their daughter continued to nurse and Ryoma watched their brand new family while small pieces of sunlight of that new day started to enter through the windows.

He touched the baby's round belly and closed his eyes. The soft movement of her breathing was able to bring some peace to his heart and mind. New tears started to run down his face, but, this time, they were pouring from absolute joy.


	41. Chapter 41

"Look at you." Toshio smiled when Sakuno placed the baby on his arms. Two weeks passed by quickly and mother and child were doing just fine. They were on the living room of their house and Ryoma came close, bringing some tea with him. Word about the birth of the doctor's daughter spread quickly on the small town and many people came by visiting them and bringing food for the nursing mother. Ryoma was very touched with the people's kindness. The other mermaids and humans that already had children also gave Sakuno a lot of advices. Everyone was smitten by their daughter's cuteness and Ryoma was very proud. "Aren't you a beauty, Yuki-chan?"

The baby looked at him curiously. She had a great resemblance to Sakuno, but she had Ryoma's eyes.

"I heard she was born under some challenging conditions. Are you well, Sakuno-san?"

"I am fine." Sakuno smiled. "I just didn't know it would hurt so badly!"

"For a mermaid to give birth outside the ocean is two times more painful than for a human. The water makes things easier." Toshio looked at Ryoma gently. "That is the biggest proof of love you can give your human mate."

Ryoma looked at his wife and smiled at her.

"Toshio-san, when is she going to be able to go to the water? And her tail? When is it going to come out?" the young human had many questions.

"Six months." He looked at the baby again. She had lovely pinkish cheeks. "She is still too young to be able to control her temperature on the water. And her tail will not come out at least for two years." The little girl grabbed a piece of his long ponytail. His eyes were kind. "Does she sleep well at night?"

"Yes. She only wakes up when she is hungry or wet." Ryoma answered.

"My first one would scream during the whole night. I thought he was dying. I was so afraid." He smiled at his memories. "Aki was exhausted. In a desperate measure, I took him to the sea one night. It was summer and I just put him on my chest and let the waves carry us without wetting him. He slept immediately and peacefully. Then, I arranged a boat and kept it near the house. If necessary I would be there with him, rocking him to sleep."

"She likes when I sing to her. I met some mermaids once and they were singing to their children. I have a song that is on my memories for a long time, but I have no idea where I learned it."

"It was probably your mother's song. The mermaid's lullaby is unique inside each family. She had sung it to you at some point and you memorized. I still remember my mother's song as well." He smiled at Sakuno. "Someday, Yuki-chan will sing your song to her children as well."

The merman placed the baby in her mother's arms and caressed the soft red hair.

"Do you have any idea of how important you are, little one?"

"What do you mean?" Ryoma asked.

"Your daughter existence saved your kin." He looked at Sakuno with gentle eyes. "You are not the only one anymore. There are many groups of merpeople around, but all of them are important. The sea would be less beautiful without your red scales between the waves."

Yuki yawned and rolled her little body to her mother's chest, closing her eyes. Sakuno smiled and gentle kissed her forehead

############

"I must admit. Even though I really miss you, I understand why you like in here so much." Kaori smiled to her brother. They were sitting on the small harbor on the back of his house. She had travelled to visit them. A year had passed by quickly. It was a beautiful spring afternoon. The tide was low and Sakuno was playing with Yuki on the sand, near the waves. The sun was setting on the horizon and everything was orange and golden.

"Isn't it?" Ryoma said, with a smile. "This is my favorite spot."

"So, another girl on the way, right?" she looked at Sakuno's round belly. She looked six month's along. "Do you think your math is going to be correct about the birth date this time?"

"How knows." The gentle breeze moved his dark hair. "But, just in case, I will not leave Sakuno's side this time. Not even for a second."

"What a doting parent." His sister giggled. "You are going to be horrible for their boyfriends."

"Please, do not talk about such a thing." He released a long breath. "Toshio-san already says his son is going to court Yuki."

"Oh, do not forget to invite us for the wedding ceremony!"

"You can tease me as you like. I am sure Shuichirou-san is going to be a very overprotective father as well."

Kaori long purple hair waved with the wind and she placed her hands over her stomach.

"We will find out about it soon, I guess." The pink eyes were filled with love.

"Eh?!" Ryoma was very surprised. "Kaori! Are you…? Really?!"

"I found out a few days before coming here."

"Congratulations!" he hugged his sister tightly. "Wow, Shuichirou-san must be so happy!"

"He does not know yet. Otherwise there was no way he would let me come without being escorted. I will tell him when I arrive home."

"I am so happy for you."

"I am happy for you too." She touched her brother's face and smiled.

"Let me know when you are about to give birth, so we can go to Muramasa. I can help you with the deliver."

"You can go, little brother, but there is no way you are going to see my private parts." She grinned and it made him chuckled.

Kaori leaned on her brother's arm and took a deep breath, enjoying the sea's smell, while watching Yuki and Sakuno on the sand.

"Sakuno-san does not look one day older than the day I met her. Are all mermaids like that?"

"Yes. It is scary sometimes."

"Is Yuki-chan going to be like her?"

"No, she is a half-blood after all. Toshio-san said her life spam is going to be around only 100 years old." She notices a hint of sadness on his voice.

"You are going to be and old man with a young and beautiful wife. People will be jealous." Kaori tried to humor him.

"Maybe." He touched his sister's hand. "But no matter how long it takes, I am going to love her forever. Until my last days. And beyond."

"I know you will." Her other hand covered his.

They stayed silently leaning on each other, while the sky slowly started to change colors.

The mermaid picked up their daughter on her arms and Yuki giggled when her mother's kissed her round cheek. She looked at Ryoma and smiled, surrounded by bluish tones. He engraved the happiness of his wife and daughter deep on his heart and wished they could forever remain on that perfect moment.


	42. Chapter 42

The little boy was anxiously moving his legs on the front porch of his house. It was night and there were two lanterns lit on each side of the door. He was dressed in a dark blue yukata with white koi fish. He could hear the music from the summer festival that was happening on the city. He had dark blue spiky hair and green eyes.

"Aaaah!" he complained. "Where are they?! We are going to be late!"

He stood up and went to the living room window of his house. His mother was there, breastfeeding his little sister. The baby was around six months old. The young woman had red hair reaching her shoulders and golden eyes. The little girl got her mother's hair but she had green eyes as well.

" _Ka-chan_! _Ji-chan_ and _Ba-chan_ are late!"

"Calm down, Ryota." She smiled at him. "They promised you they would come, right? Just be a little patient."

"I'm ready!" his father returned from the bath. He was wearing a red and white stripped yukata. He had long dark blue hair and light green eyes. He was tall and handsome. After many years of teasing, Toshio's prediction was right and his son really started to court Ryoma's older daughter when they were still teenangers.

"Ryota, did you know I proposed to your mother on the same summer festival, 9 years ago?" he sat by his wife's side.

"I know…" he was bored. "You tell this story every year."

"You were so nervous. I thought you would break up with me." She smiled at him.

"I would never do that." he kissed his wife's cheek. "My heart was always yours."

The little boy made a face and rolled his eyes. hIS parents were still deeply in love with each other and they could be very embarrassing sometimes.

"Good evening." The boy smiled and turned around with the familiar voice. He ran and grabbed his grandfather's legs tightly. Ryoma smiled and caressed his hair. "Hello, Ryota."

" _Ji-chan_!" he grinned happily and looked at Sakuno. " _Ba-chan_!"

"I'm sorry we are a little late." She smiled at him. The mermaid was wearing a purple yukata with pink flowers and her long hair was tight on a bun, two strands of hair framing her face.

Ryoma was dressed in a black yukata. His silver hair glistered under the moonlight. He was already 55 years old.

The baby had finished eating and Yuki fixed her clothes and placed her on her father's arms before going to her parents. She hugged them tightly.

"Welcome home. How was the trip? Is everyone well in Muramasa?"

"Everyone is fine. Your aunt and uncle sent their love and some gifts to the children. They are on our house, I will bring them later." They had traveled to visit Kaori. It was his nephews' birthday.

"Oh, my sweetheart." Sakuno picked her granddaughter and her arms and smelled the baby's hair when her son-in-law got close. "Akane, you are so big already."

"She missed you." He said, with a smile.

"How about the twins?" Yuki asked.

"Shoichi and Shinji are well too. They decided they are going to rule Muramasa together when the time comes. They are already working very hard and helping their mother out."

"Can we talk about this later?" Ryota asked, pulling his grandfather's sleeve. "We are going to miss the festival!"

"Yes, yes, I am sorry." He smiled and held the boy's hand. The entire family left the house and headed to the city.

Everything was filled with colorful decorations and the streets were crowded. The good scent of different food on the stalls mixed together.

"Did your sister send any news?" Sakuno asked to her older daughter. Natsumi had moved and now worked as a traveling doctor to help cities and people in need after she finished her training with their father. Their younger daughter was a wild and free spirit. She had Ryoma's hair and Sakuno's eyes that she kept tight on a long braid.

"She said she is going to spend some time on the south, but she will be back for our birthday, _Tou-san_."

"Good." He smiled.

" _Ji-chan_ , let's go buy some candy apple!" he was very excited.

"Okay."

Sakuno and Yuki looked at them and smiled.

"He is always spoiling him."

"This is the reason grandparents exist."

They walked for a while, talking and greeting friends. Ryota was playing games with his grandfather until dinner time. They had sit together and ate different festival food on a shared table with other families.

"Ah, I am stuffed!" the little boy smiled with a satisfied expression, sitting by his mother's side.

"Well, if you excuse us." Ryoma offered his hand to Sakuno. "I am going to take a walk with my beautiful wife under this moonlight."

"I'd love to." She replied.

"Eh?!" Ryota complained while they distanced themselves from the table. "But I wanted to play with _Ji-chan_ again!"

"Ryota, let them be for a while. The time they share together with each other is more precious at each day." His mother smiled gently at him and caressed his hair.

"What do you mean?"

"You will understand someday." His father completed. He was holding the baby.

"Let's go to the grass field. The fireworks will be out soon."

"Yes!" he grinned, happily.

#############

"Ah, this is a good place." They sat together under a big tree, away from the crowd, but still close enough to look at the festival. The big moon on the sky was illuminating everything.

"How many festivals have we gone so far?" Sakuno asked gently.

"Ah, too many of them. Since the girls were very small. You were still pregnant of Natsumi on our first ones. She was born just before the fall."

"We've created so many memories." She smiled at him and touched his face. He had some small wrinkles on the corner of his eyes and mouth. "I want many more still."

"We will." He kissed her cheek. "A lot of happy memories."

The mermaid kissed her husband deeply and Ryoma held her in a passionate embrace.

They lips separated when the fireworks started to fly and explode on the dark skies.

"It's always so beautiful." Sakuno said, looking at them with a big smile on her face.

Ryoma looked at his wife. She now looked no older than 25, her skin was still soft and smooth. The scarlet eyes glistered under the changing colors and his heart was tight. He was absolute certain that, no matter how much time passed by, the love Ryoma felt for her would only get wider and deeper, just like the blue ocean that brought them together.

His wife leaned on his arm and they quietly continued to watch the fireworks together, enjoying each other's company on that pleasant summer's night.

For many years yet to come, the red mermaid and the human would share other summer festivals, appreciating the exploding colors and never letting go of each other's hands.

 **THE END.**


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